N THE CUSTODY Of TME
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
^HELF N°
^' AUAMb
■'aA^^.
VL^.^.
\
T R
V E L
THROUGH
HOLLAND,
FLANDERS,
GERMANY,
4) E N M A R K,
SWEDEN,
LAPLAND,
RUSSIA,
The UKRAINE,
AND
POLAND,
IN THE
Years 17^8, 1769, and 1770,
In which is particularly minuted,
THE PRESENT STATE
THOSE COUNTRIES,
RESPECTING THEIR
AGRICULTURE, POPULATION,
MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE,
The ARTS, and USEFUL UNDERTAKINGS.
By
JOSEl
^H
MARSHALL,
Efq.
THE S
E C
0 N D
EDITION
•
V
0 L.
in.
'
LONDON:
Printed for J. Almon, oppofite Burlington-Houfe,
Piccadilly.
MDCCLXXIIL
,. ^
CONTENTS of Vol. III.
Travels through Sweden, conthiued.
Chap. I. journey from Llndfal to HudwicJ:-
fwald — 'T'he Country, and the Hujhandry car-
ried on by the Peafants — Horjien — Defcrip-
iton of M. de Verfpof s fine Seat at Raverf-
hurgh — An Account of his very fpiritcd im-
provements.
Chap. II. Hern f and — P leafing Adventure
ivith a Swedifh Peafant — Hufhandry — Uma
— State of Commerce — Pitha — T)efcription of
the Country — Torneo — State of the Country im
Kaf Bothnia — Admirable Management of a
Farmer — A Swedifh Club — Remarkable
Country- — Nyfot — VVyburg,
Chap. III. General Reflections on the State of
Sweden— Religion— Liearning— The fine Arts
"—Manner of Life — Governmetit — Agrictih
ture — Manufa^ures— ^Commerce — Wealth-^
Population — 'Travelling .
Travels through Ruffia.
Chap. IV. Defcription of Peterfhurg — Gene-
ral Accounts of the Rmpire of Ruffia — The
Emprefs — Government — ManufaBures —
Trade — Army — Navy — Prefent State.
Chap. V. Journey from Peterfhurg to Mof-
cow — Defcription of the Country — Great
Settlement of Poles — Mofcow^ — Journey into
the Ukraine — Account of that fine Province
ii CONTENT S.
— DefcriptJoji of the Agriculture of it — Cul-
ture of Hemp ^ Tobacco, &c.
Chap. VI. Journey to Peterfurg througJj the
Frontiers of Poland — Obfervations on the
State of fever al Provinces — RuJJian Acquifi-
tions — Remarks on the JVar between the Ruf-
fians and the Turks — Journey to Archangel^
and through Lapland — Return to Peterfhufg
— Livonia.
Travels through Poland and Pru/Iia.
C H A p . VI I . Journey to Dantzick — Defcription
of the Country and Hujbandry — Trade of
Dantzick — Journey to Warfaw — Miferable
State of Poland — To Brefaw.
Travels through Germany.
Chap. VIII. Silefa — Brefaw — Journey to
Berlin— The Country— Agricuhure—Dejcrip'
'' tion of Berlin — Prefent State of the King of
Pruffids Forces, Revenues, ^c. — Saxony —
Leipjick — Drefden — State of the Ele^orate,
Chap. IX. Journey acrofs Bohemia — Prague
— Defcription of the Country — The People —
Nobility — Hujbandry — Manuf allures— Mo-
ravia — Olmutz — Brijin — Journey to Vienna
— Defcription of the Capital.
Chap. X . Journey from Vienna through Aufria
— Defcription of the Archduchy — Bavaria
— Munich — Revenues and Forces.^-*
Tra-
Travels through Swedeitj
Continued.
Vol. I!L ' B
I 3 ]
CHAP. I.
r yournty from hin^fiil to Hudzv'ichfwald — The
Country ,, and the Hu/handry carried on by
the Peafants — Horjien — Defcription of M,
de Verfpofs fine Seat at Kaverjhurgh — An
'Jlccount of his very fpirited Improvements.
IT Was the evening of the 28th of June,
before 1 arrived at Lindfal, which is a
little inconliderable village. From thence I
fet out next morning for Hudwickfwald,
the diftance fixty miles, which proved a jour-
ney of two days. The night of the lil: I laid
^t Dilfbo ; the country very wild and moun-
tainous, like Dalecarlia, and not better culti-
vated : in fome of the vales are fmall villages,
the inhabitants of fome of which have little
farms, but, I do not think, are quite fo induf-
trious in the management of them, as their
neighbours of Dalecarlia. Dilfbo ftands ou
a river near the Baltic, and has a harbour,
that admits fhips of two hundred tons bur-
then, yet there is hardly any trade at it :
now and then, a veilel comes for a load of
timber, bivt it is feldom. From thence to
B % • Hud^
4 TRAVELS THROUGH
Hudwickfwald is through a fiat country,
pretty well cultivated, and the inhabitants
much more induflrious. I faw two or three
large houfes, furrounded by conliderable
farms ; gentlemen's feats ; and the owners
feem to carry on a hufbandry, equal to any
thing, I have feen in Sweden in general. I
found their crops, generally good ; and the
products rife, upon a medium of all forts, to
three or four quarters per acre : their dwarf
beans are a favourite crop here, for I faw
many fields of them : they do not grow more
than a foot high. Another thing I found here,
of which I had feen little before, which was,
great plenty of trefoil; it is a fort, not com-
mon in England, tho* the blo0bm is yellow;
they fow it among their corn, and for two or
three years following mow or feed it; which
appears to be the fame fyftem, as the cul-
ture of clover and trefoil in England,
and alfo fainfoin. Artificial graffes I have
very rarely (een in this kingdom, and there
is certainly a reafon for it; the great plenty of
wild ground and marfhes, on which the pea«
fants depend for the fubfiftance of their cattle.
-■ Hudwickfwald is extremely well fituated
for the Baltic trade ; the harbour is fpacious,
fafe, and admits fhips of any burthen: there
are a few merchants in the town, that are
rich.
SWEDEN. 5;
rich. They have a tolerable quay ; they
Ihewed me the church, which is ufually exhi-
bited to Grangers, but contains not the leafl
thing worth J of obfervation. Moft of the
ftreets are regular, clean, and fome of them
Tery neatly built.
Here I made enquiries after M. de Verfpot^
and found, after fome difficulty, that I mufl:
take the road north to a village, called Tuna^
and from thence follow a road, which runs
weftward near the river, on which Tuna
ftands, and in about five or fix and thirty
milesjl fliould come to a place called Horften,
near which, that gentleman's feat is.
, The firft of July I got to Tuna, the distance
from Hudwickfwald thirty-fix miles. The
country is various ; parts of it marfhy, and
parts dry : a good deal of the latter is culti-
vated, but I faw no gentlemen's houfes. I
found, that many of the peafants here paid
their rents in parts of the products of their
land, and that their kndlords fte wards came
in floops from Stockholm, at a certain time of
the year, to receive thefe products : this is
reckoned here very advantageous to the land-
lords, for they have the corn, &c. at a much
iefs calculated value, than w^hat they fell it for
at Stockholm, all expenges reckoned ; but at
the fame time, the peafants like it better, than
B 3 being
6 TRAVELS THROUGH
bchig forced to find the money, which Is vefjr
fcarce here. They cultivate large quantities
of corn, and many turneps and carrots; and
have the art of fattening axen with thefe roots
in winter, by boihng and m^ing them, and
then mixing fome meal of barley or oats with
them : with this food their oxen and their hogs
fatten very quickly, and they reckon, if the
crop of roots is good, it proves, in this way of
ufnig it, one of the befl a farmer can cultivate.
They do not ufe wood-aflies in this country,
which is fo principal a manure in moflof the
parts of Sweden, through which I have pafled,
but depend totally on dung, which they mix
up with earth, and think, it thus exceeds any-
other manure, that can be had. The dung
of fwine, they reckon the mofl powerful.
I reached Horften the 2d; and, fixing my
bed in the houfe of a civil peafant, made enqui-
ries after M. de Verfppt. I was informed, that
he. lived about eight miles from thence; that
all Horften belonged to him, and alfo many
more villages in the neighbourhood : — that he
had the greateft eftate in this country ; was
infinitely beloved, being a good friend to all
the peafants, and encouraging them in every
thing. The 3d in the morning, I fet out for
his houfc, and got there by breakfaft. I was
introduced to him in company of his wife,
and
SWEDEN. 7
and fix or {even children of different ages ;
and delivering M. le Count de Roncellen's
letter, he read it ^yith feeming pleafure, and
with the •utmpft politenefs welcomed me to
Ravefburg, the name of his feat. The.
Count had fully explained to him the motives
of my travels through Svveden, which he was
pjeafed to commend very much. He is a lufty
Ojan, of about fifty years of age, with a fine
.open., manly countenance, that prejudices one,
at firfl fight, in his favour. He fpeaks French
fluently; had been in England, but not long
enough to learn the language. He made many
enquiries after M. de Roncellen, and his im-
provempnts, whi,le we breakfafted ; faid, that
he had not been able of fome years to pay
him a vifit, but that he hoped once more to
have that pleafiare if he lived. He told me,
he had a packet for me, dire6:ed under my
name, ^/i KngUfi gentleman on his travels
through Sweden. This he gave me in the after-
noon, and I found it a letter from Baron
Miflle rat Stockholm, v/ith cafh to the amount
of forty-feven pounds, the produ6:of the fale
of chaiie and horfes, Vv-^hich I thought a very
good' return in Sweden. M. de Veripot aiked
me concerning my route; and was much fur-
prized, at findingthatlhadpenetratedthrough
the whole province of Delacarlia, He faid,
B 4 it.
8 TRAVELS T H R O tJ G Ff
it was a bold undertaking, and tho* he had
travelled through moft parts of Sweden, yet he
had feen very little of that province. I gave
him a curlbry account of what I had remarked
among the peafants there, with which he
feemed to be pleafed ; and attended very much
to what I mentioned of their hufbandry. He
laid, that I had feen fuch great things at the
Count de Roncellen's, that every thing, he
could (hew me., would appear fmall; tho' he
had fome improvements, which perhaps I
might like to fee, as I appeared to be fond of
agriculture.
He then told me, that for twenty years he
attended the government of Sweden, as a fe-
nator, and was long anxious to oppofe a party,
that feemed determined on the ruin of their
country ; but finding, after a ftruggle of
many years, that the voice of prudence and
moderation was fo little liftened to, he took a
long farewell of them, and retired to this
eflate, determining to make a country life,
which wasbeforeonlyaceflation from bufinefs,
the only bufinels of his life; and lince he took
that refblution, he has adhered to it without
once quitting it; and from the factions, which
liave arifen fmce his departure, he has had
contifuial reafon to rejoice at the determina-
tion. He has found, in the obfcurity of theic
mouu-
S W E D E N. 9
mountains, a fatisfadion, whicll the bufieft
fcenes of Stockholm could never give. He
applied himfelf to the ftudy and pradice of
agriculture with great eagernefs,: and has
always taken uncommon pleafure in trying
various, experiments on different articles of
culture, to difcover the moft profitable appli-
cation of the ground ; and he has found,
that the only way for aSwedifh nobleman to be
rich, ortoimprovehis income in a manner that
may bring no regret with his wealth, is the im-
provement of his eftates. Nothing is fo pro-
fitable, nor any thing, in Sweden at leaft, fb
honourable. He has been much ridiculed for
giving up an attention to the government of
his country, to retire and pafs his days among
peafants and boors. " But experience has told
me," added M. de Verfpot, " that my choice
has been right ; for I have increafed my
wealth at the fame time, that I have improved
the happlnefs of my life."' This account,
which he gave me in a pleallng candid man-
ner, fiiewed me at once, that his ideas were
congenial with thofe of the illuflrlous Ron-
cellen.
He did not carry me to his improvements
that day; but after breakfaft he took a walk
with me, which lafted till dinner ; in which
I viewed the grounds around his houfe, the
fitua-
fO TRAVELS THROUGH
Situation of which is one of the moft romantic,
1 ever beheld. It is a very large quadrangular
building around a court, fituated on the fide
of a vaft mountain, near the bottom, but not
fo low, as not to command a great view in
front : a large track of falling ground parts
the houfe from a very beautiful lake, four
miles long, and one and an half broad, in
which are leveral lofty iflands, covered with
wood, in one of whi^li M. de Verfpot has
built a fummer-houle, delicioufly fituated :
on the other lides of this lake, the country is
extremely various, either irregular vales, or
hills rifuig very boldly, and in general covered
thick with wood : the whole country belongs
entirely to him for feveral miles every way.-:
on the fide of one of the hills, lefs fteep than
the reft, he has built a new village, of above
"feventy houfes; which being raifed of a white
lione, has a moft chearful and enlivening ap-
.pearaiice. In the lake he has a fmall fhip of
two mails, carrying ten brafs cannon ; three
floops, and various boats ; all which add un-
commonly to tlie beauty of the Icene. In a
w^ord, it put me more in mind of a nobleman's
ornamented feat, in a wild part of Britain,
than any place, I had feen, fince 1 left Eng-
land. We rambled for fume miles about this
fine, wild, and romantic fcene; and returning
to
_^^.W EDEN, u
to dinner, Madam de Verfpot aiked me, how
I liked Ravefburg ? I replied, I thpught it
the moll beautiful, and at the fanae time, the
mod romantic place I had ever feen in my
life. At which complimeat, tho' indeed the
mere unaffected; idea I had of the place, (he
feemed pleafed ; and I thought her huiband
very fortunate, in having a lady that could
reli^ thefe forts of country beauties, and enr
joy a rural life, as well as the gaieties of the
M. de. Verfpot lives in a very plentiful, ai)d
gt the fame time, elegant flile.— — His table
is fpread with a][} the delicacies, which art caii
procure in this northern climate ; he has all
the fineft wines in Europe, and his lake fur-
iiiihes him: with admirable fi(h"His eftabliih-
ment may be gueffed, when I mention his
having above feventy menial fervants in the
houfe, one of whom has the title of captain
of the guard, after the cuflom of Sweden,
who has a table, at which is his fecretary, and
two chaplains; and befides this, there are five
other tables kept; at the loweft of which,
all the peafants, who pieafe to come, are
indifcriminately admitted ; and their numr
her is very often great, even to fome bun--
dreds ; but that is only on feftivals : how-
ever, fome take advantage of the admiffion
^very day in the vear. The houfe was bnilt
by
ii TRAVELS THROt^GH
by himfelf from the ground, and the fituatlon,
as I before mentioned, moft judicioufly cho-
len. The apartments are amazingly nume-
rous, and many of them very large; I think^
it is the largeft houfe belonging to a fubjedt,
which I have any where feen : there is a fuite
of eleven rooms, fronting the lake, not one of
which is lefs than 40 feet long by 30 broad ;
they are all well furniflied, each with two
chimney-pieces in the Englifh tafte, though
floves are at each end of the room ; and in
all thefe floves, and chimnies, as well as in
every room in the houfe, are conftant fires
all winter. I am convinced, that in fuch a fa-
mily as this, the depth of winter would be
the feafon to enjoy the hofpitality of the
owner. My only doubt is, whether they
have a fociety collected, fufficient to make that
dreary feafon plafs pleafantly.
In the morning, M. de Verfpot made feve-.
ral enquiries of me concerning various objedls,
which I had examined in my travels in Flan-
ders, Germany, and Denmark ; when I de-
fcribed to him the encourageme^its, all the ufe-
•ful arts had lately met with in the laft of thofe
countries : he faid, that formerly the Swedes
much excelled the Danes in every thing;
they were equally fuperior in war, commerce,
and agriculture; but fince fadion has ufurped
. the
SWEDEN. 13
the reins of the government, the kingdom
hath in all things much declined. I replied,
that the natural advantages of Denmark were,
for the fize of the territory, greater than thofe
of Sweden, the climate warmer, and no
mountains in the whole kingdom, but what
might be cultivated to the very tops ; whereas
in Sweden, the mountains occupy an amazing
ihare of the whole kingdom, and the climate
is much feverer. All that, faid he, is very
true ; but what is the amount of the plains
of Denmark in fpace, compared to thofe of
Sweden ? we have twenty acres to their one ;
and tho' our mountains cannot be cultivated,
yet they in timber, iron, copper, pitch and tar,
prove as valuable as the plains ; and tho' our
climate is much colder than that of Denmark,
yet that is of no eflential confequnce, as we
can raife every prbdud:, that is to be met
with in Denmark.
I acknowledged the juftnefs of thefe re-
marks.
Sir, faid he, Denmark exceeds ns in no-
thing, but the encouragement given by the
crown in- favour of ufeful undertakings ;
whereas the. cafe is very different in Sweden.
We have had our encouragements too, but the
mifchief is, they have bee;i calculated more
foi^.
r4 TRAVELS THROUGH
for the advantage of the eflates of the fenatdrs,
than for that of the people at large.
Upon my making enquiries concerning the
obje£l of his rural improvements, he anfwer*
ed, I will (hew you, to-morrow morning, a
large track of cultivated country, near this
houfe, which, when I came to the ellate,
was all wail:e ; my great objed has been, to
bring thefe wafles fnto improvement. My
property in thefe wilds is fo extenlive, that two
lives, longer than mine, would be too fhort td
improve them all, but I am not idle. I keep
improving — doing that land firft, that lies
neareft to my dwelling. I am not an enemy
to Woods, provided they are duly regulated,
and that they are confined to land, which is
improper fbr corn and grafs. Our firs and
pines thrive as well, or I think rather better,
dn almoft inacceffible mountains and fteeps,
than on plains, and more level ground : to
the former, therefore, I confine them ; and in
the management of them, I am attentive al-
ways to thin my woods, inflead of deflroying
the whole growth, which is the cuftom of
this country. If an acre of land has thirty
trees on it, that will turn out profitable to cut;
the general way of the country is to cut
down all, to take away the beft, and reducQ
the reft to aflies, for manuring the land; the
con-.
SWEDE N. 15
confequenee of which management is, the
land fo cleared, being a long while before it is
agatn cbyered with a good growth, and never,
with any dqual to what was before upon it ;
thia is owing to a want of fhelter. While the
ground is half or three fourths covered, the
young trees are well iheltered, and you have a
continually thriving crop. There fliould not
be more than from five to ten trees taken out
in ^ year, from an acre of land', according as
the foil, &c. may be. By pradifing this me-
thod, my woods yield me a very beneficial
1-e^tilar crop ; I carry none but fine trees,
which are fure of good price, to market ;
and am always in poffeffion of as many acres
at one time, as at another, inflead of having
large tracks kid wafte by my peafants, which
are fornle centuries befo're they recover them-
lelves'. Another circumflance, very well un-
derfliood in England, but no where elfe, that
t have remarked, is, attending to the fences
around the woods; I keep all mine in as good
order as thofe which furround my corn : cattle
love to browze in woods, but the mifchief
they do is incredible: upon my fyftem, I de-
pend for the regular fupply, on young trees
being conflantly on the growth among the old
phes; but if cattle had admiflion in the com-
mon Way, I Ihould be prefently difappointed
h
i6 TRAVELS THROUGH
in my expedlations : this is one reafbn, why a
piece of wafte is fo long, before it becomes
covered with a full growth of wood. But
I make it a rule, as faft as I advance my
improvements, to leave no wafles behind me.
All, that are not proper for corn or grafs, I in-
clofe, with the fame attention, as my other
grounds, and fow them regularly with feeds,
fo that they prefently become as good woods,
a§ any on my eftate. For other purpofes,
than the exportation, or ufe of fine timber,
I referve the woods, that are fituated on places,
which would admit a profitable culture of
corn or grafs ; thefe I root out entirely, as
they are wanted; and, as faft as they are clear-
ed, cultivate the land.
By means of this conduct, all the parts of
my eftate, through which I advance my im-
provements, are brought into profit : woods
indeed, in a country, where they are fo ama-
zingly plentiful, will not pay me near ib good
a rent, as my cultivated land; but then, all
they do pay, is clear profit, for I leave them
no where, that corn and grafs could be well
cultivated upon.
From this converfation of M. de Verfpot, I
entertained great exped:ations of feeing many
noble improvements, next morning; but he
warned me, not to form too great an idea of
them.
SWEDEN. 17
them.—" You will fee," faid he, ** good
common hufbandry, exercifedov^r a large track
of land ; but that fight to an Englilhman is
nothing; he fees it almoft over a whole king-
dom. I am fo unfortunate, as to be at a dif-
tance from the fea ; our river, which carries
down floats of timber, is of excellent ufe ;
but had I the opportunity, which my excel-
lent friend Roncellen has, I would attempt to
rival him. My eflate would alone, furnifh
employment for ten fail of flout fhips for a
century to come: had I the conveniency of a
port, I fhould form a great exportation of va-
rious products, which would be an improve-
ment, which nothing elfe can equal."
M. de Verfpot ordered an early breakfafl,
that we might have the longer excurfion be-
fore dinner. I was apologizing for being
troublefome to him ; but he faid, — '' You
are much miftaken. Sir, fo far from being a
trouble, it is giving me the pleafure of a com-
panion in my ufual ride, for I am never in
the houfe from breakfafl to dinner."
In the morning, we mounted, and he con-
du6led me about a mile and half through the
ornamented environs I mentioned before, and
then came into a part of the lands, which he
cultivates himfelf. The fituation of the
ground was, in general, that of fome gentle
Vol. hi. C hills
1^ TRAVELS THROUGH
hills and plains, entirely in culture. The
fields were all regularly difpofed in fquares or
oblongs ; the fences regular and admirable ;
and all the gates, rails, &c. very good and
neat, and all painted white, very much hi the
manner and appearance of many ornamented
farms, I have feen in England. The inclo-
fures were in general of twenty or thirty
acres. The foil is a light loam upon a rock
or flinf, of various depths, but leldom lefs
than fix inches. M. de Verfpot obferved,
that the depth was not of any material confe-
quence, except for carroty, turneps, and fome
other roots; yet thofe crops yield abundantly
in only fix inches depth, tho' not fo greatly
as when deeper. The fields were covered
with wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, buck-
wheat, carrots, turneps, clover, trefoil, &c.
and many of them in natural grafs. The
crops were all exceeding vigorous, and fupe-
rior to any thing in appearance, not only that I
had lately feen , but alfo to moil:, that I recol-
ledled having taken any notice of in England.
I exprefled my furprize, that this northern
latitude fhould admit the crops, which I then
law. " Sir, laid he, I do not wonder at your
opinion ; 1 have heard it from feveral, and read
much the fame ideas in many books; nothing
fo common as, in the defcription of countries,
to
SWEDE N: 19
to read of the climate being fo fevere, that the
inhabitants mujfl live only on fifhing and
hunting, or produces only a few oats; twen-
ty books, in my library, tell me, that wheat
will not fucced higher in Sweden, than the
fixtieth degree of latitude. I am convinced,
that the bounty of Providence is fuch, that all
kinds of corn, pulfe, and roots, which are
now on my farm, will grow every where ;
the great thing is to confult the nature of the
climate in the mode of culture.
In Sweden, our winters are extremely fe-
vere, and they come with but little interven-
tion of autumn ; they likewife go away fud-
denly, without fuch a gradation of fpring, as
you have in England: Ipring^and autumn,
you muft well know, are, in warmer climates,
the principal feafons for mofi: of the operations
of tillage : we are not totally without them,
as fome authors affert, but their duration is
very fhort. As foon as the fun has thorough-
ly thawed the earth, and it is in order for til- '
lage,thatis the time to fow,v/hich is evidently
evinced by the immediate vegetation, feen in
all plants: the peafants follow this idea ver}^
well ; but the great objeil is the preparation
of the land, in the little autumn we have.
The field, which theyfowin Ipring, never had
any tillage, (ince the preceding crop ; fo that
C 2 the
20 TRAVELS THROUGH
the produ6ls are fmall, not from the fault of
the land, but for want of better tillage. The
power of the fun, coming after the frofts of
winter, with the one ploughing they give
their fields, fets all the weeds loofe; and they
vegetate with vigour, like every thing elfe ;
oftentimes to the deftruftion of the crop. But
my method has ufually been to be very expe-
ditious; the moment harveft is over, I plough
up all my flubbles, before the froft catches me :
by this means, when it comes, it has the
greater efFe^l: ; but the principal ufe of it is,
the feeds and roots of wheat vegetating, before
I plough and fow in the fpring, which they
will not a tenth part do, if the land was not
fl:irred in autumn; by turning them In, at the
fame time, that I fow my corn, they are kil-
led, and the crops fucceed as clean, as you
now fee them."
This conduct flruck me very much, as it
appeared at once to be founded, uot only in
experience, but good fenfe. Upon my afk-
ing him, if he thought ploughing up of ftub-
bles in autumn, would be a good pracStice,
where the fame inducement did not hold
equally flrong, that is in milder climates,
fuch as England?" -"There is not, replied he,
the fame reafon for it, becaufe your ipring al-
lows you to plow your land as often as you
pleafe,
SWEDEN. 21
pleafe, before you fow, confequently the iveeds
may be deftrojed : yet I fhould follow the
rule even in that climate; becaufe by plough-
ing before winter (for which likewife you
have whatever time you want) the frofts will
have much more power over the foil, in break-
ing and fweetening it ; fo that lefs tillage
would do in the fpring, and the weeds alfo
grow rnuch more, w^hich will render it fo
much the e^iier to kill them." — What the
praftice of our Englifh farmers is in this cafe,
I do not know : but it appears to be a point
pf confiderable importance.
As we rode through the fields, the crops
of which made fo fine an appearance, M. de
Verfpot obferved,thatofallhis grain, nothing-
paid him better than wheat; tho' among the
common farmers, they are much inclined to
think that oats anfwer as well, from the large-
nefs of the produce, Vv'hich is much greater
than wheat. My oat crops generally yield
■ me five or fix quarters an acre ; my barley,
rather more than four; wheat yields two and
an half; peas as much; beans four; and buck-
wheat four. Thefe crops leemhig to me to be
very confiderable, I aiked hira, if he did not
p^anure very richly for them ; and how he ma-
naged in this refpe6t, as he did not ule wood-
alhes in the large quantities of the comiiTs,an
fai risers?
C ^ I de^
tt TRAVELS THROUGH
" I depend, replied he, entirely upon dung,
formed into compofts with the earth, I dig in
draining marflies. I have two ftrong reafons
againft the praftice, common among the pea-
fants, of manuring with fuch quantities of
wood-afhes ; firft, they fpoil, for ages, large
tracks of wood land, for they not only carry
away all the a{hes, but all the furface of the
foil with them; and I find my woods too pro-
fitable to deftroy, without, at the fame time,
gaining either grafs or arable in the room of
them :. fecondly, they depend fo much on
thefe afhes, that they are apt to negle£l the
article of cattle, as they can manure their
lands without them : but I think it an infi-
nite lofs, not only to themfelves, but to the
•whole kingdom, to adopt any fyftem, that lef-
fens the general ftock of cattle; I think, they
form the mofl profitable part of huibandry ;
and at the fame time, that they are of this im-
portance to the farmer, in the profit they
yield, they are to the ftate the foundation of
the manufactures of wool and leather, which
in all countries are of fuch confequence. Nor
do their benefits ftops here ; for our corn fields
are hidebted to them for the finefl crops, tliat
cover them. Did the peafants depend on their
dung alone for manuring, they would keep
more cattle, and then their general hufbandry
would
SWEDEN. 23
^would be much improved. In allmy improve-
ments, when I proportion the quantities of
each crop to the reft, J make the firft foun-
dation of fuch an arrangement, the quantity
of dung I fiiali want; I then provide food for
fuch a number of cattle as will, I know", yield
me the requiiite quantity of dung. I have
carried this idea into pra6lice thefe many
years, and always found it uniformly profit-
able.'*
Upon my enquiring further into this f^^-
tem, he went on " A very little attention
would enable our peafants to conceive the full
extent of this management, and a6l accord*
ingly. They all of them keep their cattle,
and know well enough bow to crop their fields
for the maintenance of them, fo that they
would only have to proportion their ground
to a greater number. They all of them feel
the advantage of keeping cows, hogs, oxen,
and many of them iheep ; they find nothing
of a readier fale, and in many fituations, they
are the only commodities, which, for want of
roads, can be brought to market. And tho*
our winter is very long, and the maintenance
ofthematthat feafbn troublefome and expen-
five, yet there are few cold climates, thatpro-^
duce better crops for keeping them ; and it
is in the winter alone, that the dunghills are
C 4 made
24 TRAVELS THROUGH
made, which are of fuch great value to all our
crops. Our Swedlfh turneps, of which we
have two forts, is a moft valuable crop; when
prepared for, by fufficient ploughings and ma-
nure, it yields a vaft produce, which will keep
found through the fharpefi winter : for the
fake of tilling my land, and being able to get
at the crop at all times, I generally lay them
vip in barns, fo as to be very handy for feed-
ing all forts of cattle on the fpot. We have
the plants which you in England callthekales,
that is, cabbages, which do not turn in with
hard heads, but are all compofed of open
leaves; thefe vegetate all winter through, and
the fnows muft be uncommonly deep, to pre-
vent our getting at thera. Carrots, I lay by in
flores, in the fame manner, as turneps: then
we have plenty of hay and ftraw, in common
with other countries ; fo that I muft confefs, I
fee no reafon for our complaing in Sweden,
nor any difficulty, which our induftrious far-
mer can find, in providing for the moft nume-
rous herds of cattle. An acre of turneps or
carrots will winter- feed four cows, if they
have a good portion of hay, and as much
flraw as they like ; but without any hay at all,
they will keep three; which is very confider-
able, and fhews, what may be done by a Ipi-
rited induftry. Our kale grows into fuch fine
crops,
SWEDEN. 25
crops, that, with ftraw, an acre of It will
winter fix fheep ; fwine are kept in the moil:
advantageous manner poflible on carrots, and
even fattened upon them to great profit, But
all thefe crops, to be confiderable, ought to
be very well tilled and amply manured; and
if the peafants are retrained from wood-alhes,
and have not any cattle, from whence is this
manure to come ? Hence it is, that cattle
enable you to keep cattle ; fo that the more
they keep, the more they might keep, if the
dung is properly applied,
" Another great advantage, pofleiTed by all
wild countries, is the having great plenty
of vegetables, of ufe only for being converted
into litter : all our w^afles and our woods
yield vaft quantities of weeds, which, mown
in their fucculency, make excellent ftraw for
littering our cattle aU winter long, vi^hich, in
the railing much manure, is an advantage of
the moft valuable kind. They are to be gain-
ed in almoft any quantities; but our peafants
did not fee their interell in this point, as they
ought ; moll: of them lay in a few loads, but
not a tenth part fufficient to make as
much dung as they might. I keep all my
cattle littered up to their bellies, the whole
winter through; by which means, my dung-
hills enfure me the greatefl crops, of which
the
i6 TRAVELS THROUGH
the land is capable of yielding. So that I am
confident, there is no abfolute occafion forfqch
•quantities of wood afties, as the Swedifh pea-
sants fo much depend on."
From the view I had of M. de Verfpot's
fields, as well as from his converfatiori, I was
extremely clear, that no man could know bet-
ter than he, how to raife great crops of all
forts; but I defired to know, where he found
a market for his produ£ls, for I found, he had
four thoufand acres in his own hands.
'' I do not, replied he, meet with any diffi-
culty in that point ; my improvements in huf-
bandry, and in ornamenting the lands around
my houfe, with the number of people that
inhabit it, all together form a very confider-
able confumption, and the reft is fold by my
agents to whoever will purchafe : much is
bought, to fupply the miners in the moun-
tains; and yet more finds its way down the
river by Tuna, and fo to fea, to the towns
upon the coafl:. If I had a port, fo conveni-
ently fituated, as to make it advifeable to keep
{hipping of my own, I fhould be able to gain
a much higher price ; but as I meet at pre-
fent with rates, that anfwer very well to me,
and I have neither trouble nor chances, I am
contented; but if the people on my eftate in-
creafe in future, as they have done lately, the
whole
SWEDEN. 27
whole country will find a market at home,
fuperior to any thing they can get abroad.
" And from the experience I have had in this
point, I have great reafon to believe, that in-
orealing population brings with it every other
advantage; and that moft other improvements
will followof courfe, provided the population,
fo gained, is founded on hu{bandry ; that is, a
certainty of food. I have never formed any
manufadories, becaufe I was of opinion, that
the improvement of the foil was the firfl and
mofl profitable bufinefs, the people could be
employed in ; and that 'till huibandry-im-
provements were advanced to the utmoft
height, all the hands, employed in the ma-
nufa6lures, were fo much lofs to the fl:ate.
" This reafoning, Iknow, I am particular in ;
it will give offence to you, and would give
yet more to a Frenchman. But whether I
am right or wrong, is not a point of any con-
lequence, fince they generally eflablifh them-
felves without your affiftance. The number
of people, I have drawn together for different
works, have formed manufactories; the ready
market this population carries with it, has
induced feveral undertakers to fix fome fabrics
in my villages; there are fome of woollen
cloth, of leather, linen, hats, and hardware :
they are not, it is true, confiderable; but they
are
2% TRAVELS THROUGH
^re proportioned to the demand, and popula-
tion has created them. ; and I have no doubt,
but they will increafe, as the population of my
eftate increafes. Thus you may depend upon
it in all cafes, that if you work fuch improve-
ments in agriculture, as greatly increafes the
number of people, luch improvements will
themfelves do all the reft ; they will eftablifh
manufaftures, and bring commerce, when
they arrive at a certain degree, and wealth
proportioned muft be the confequence. Nor
Ihould we forget, that when thefe kind of ad-
vantages take place of themfelves, and gra-
dually, we ma}? be fure, they are natural, and
permanent, and not exotics, planted by an an-
xious hand, and cherifhed by an unremitting
attention : fuch muft be more valuable, and
always more certain in their nature and con-
fequences; and conclude from hence, that
the folicitude, difcovered at prefent in feveral
parts of Europe, for eftablifliing manufac-
tories is either unneceilary or improper : if
their policy is found, manufactures will come
ofcourfe; if they do not come, it is proot
fufficient, that they ought not, as the hands,
which they would employ, ought to be advanc-
ing the foil to its utmoft improvement, before
^ny thing is done in fabrics."
I made
SWEDEN. 29
I made fome obje£lions to this opinion,
drawn froiTi the example of England and
Holland ; but they were not of confequence
enough to infert here. M. de Verfpot
wefit on -'' In converfing with feveral
noblemen in Sweden, on the fubjedl of im-
proving their eftates, the moft general diffi-
culty, I have heard of, is the getting hands;
but from my own experience I am clear, that
this is an imaginary evil. No country could
be more defolate, or worfe inhabited than
this, when I began my undertaking of im-
proving it; but by proteding and encouraging
them, building houles immediately for all,
that would fettle, and employing them con-
ftantly at a fair price for their labour, they
would any where command, whatever num-
bers they wanted, and increafe them, as
quickly as they pleafed to any height. I am
convinced, that for increafing the population
of any country, nothing more is wanting,
than the improvement of land."
Having viewed a confiderable part of the
farm, we returned to dinner; and fpent the
remainder of the day in converfing on thefe
fubjedts. I found him quite enthufiaftical in
favour of agriculture ; but muft fay, that I
believe he would not, if he had the diredion of
the affairs of Sweden, carry thefe ideas exclu-
fively
30 TRAVELS THROUGH
{ively too far, and negleft manufadtures and
commerce too much.
The next morning, he carried me over a
different part of his farm, and fhewedmethe
improvement of a very large ncarfh, by drain-
ing. It was converted into a very profitable
meadow. He alfo carried me through a field
of experiments, of fifty acres, wherein he
tries every thing, that is of dubious fuccefs,
before he extends the culture through his
whole farm : here he brings the recommen-
dations of various writers to the tefl, to fee
what truth there is in their aflertions : he is
now trying fome artifical graffes, not yet com-
mon in Sweden, particularly fainfoine, efpar-
eette, lucerne, and cytiffus, of all which he
had fmallparcels,but he did not feem to fpeak
favourably of them, from what they had hi-
therto promifed. He had alfo under culture
feveral plants from Siberia, and different forts
of wheat, to fee, which would agree befl with
the climate. Here was alfo a fet of trials
upon dung, in order to dilcover what was the
proper quantity for an acre of land. I muft
own, that this field pleafed me better than any
one I had ever viewed in my life. M. deVer-
fpothere gained mofl of his knowledge. — the
culture of it is immediately under his own in-
fpedion — nothing is done here, without he is
prcfcnt ;
SWEDEN, 31
prefent ; and by repeating and varying his
trials, he is able to decide in every inftance,
what beft fuits the foil and climate. He ob~
ferved to me, that no farmer fhould be with-
out a piece of ground, which he dedicates to
this ufe ; otherwife, he muft either give up all
idea of any improvements , or elfe try them upon
too great a fcale at firfl ; which, if they are
unfuccefsful, would be injurious to him : a
remark, which is certainlyjuft. — The evening
of this day was alfo ipent in converfatlon,
which I found very inflrudlive.
The 6th, I took my leave of him, after ex-
preffing how much I was obliged to him for
my reception at Raverfburg, and inviting
him, in cafe he fhould ever come into Eng-
land again, or any of his friends, to give me
an opportunity of returning it, I had enquir-
ed of him concerning the northern provinces
of Sweden ; and he aifured me, that I Ihould
fee nothing in Lapland worth going after ;
that as my route was to Peterfburgh, Ihad bet-
ter keep pretty near the coaft of the Baltic,
through the two Bothnias, down to Finland,
and thfough Nyland and Carelia ; in which
journey, I fhould have an opportunity of feeing
feveral varieties of country and husbandry.
CHAP.
32 TRAVELS THROUGH
CHAP. II.
Hernofand — Fleafing Adventure with a Stve-
dljh Peafant — -Htijhandry — Uma — State of
commerce — Pith a — Defcription of the country
— T'orneo — State of the country in Eajt
Bothnia — Admirable Management of a Far-
mer— A Swedifh Club — Remarkable Coun-
try— Nyflot — IVyburg .
I LEFT Raverfburgh the 6th, fetting out
for Hernofand on the Baltic, hi the pro-
vince of Angermania, the diftance fixty miles,
which took me two days, through a country
very much like that, about M. de Verfpot, but
very differently cultivated: fpots in the vales
were occupied by peafants, who all feemed to
be little farmers, but they had nothing that
flruck me in their management. Hernofand
is a fmall ifland in the gulf; is the capital
of the province, and has a little trade in iron
and timber, and is a port, to which fome fmall
craft come, that ply backwards and forwards
from Stockholm. It might be of very great
advantage, that fo large a part of this king-
dom is fituated on the Baltic, and furrounds
the
S^ W E D E N. 33
the giilf of Bothnia in fuch a manner, that a
quick and eafy communication is kept up be-
tween province and province, and between
them all, and the capital* I know of fcarcely
any country, that has the advantage of fuch a
navigation, as this gulf, which is furrounded
by fo many provinces.
The 8th, I reached Scenfio, a little village
on the bay of the gulf, the inhabitants of
which fupport themfellves chiefly by fifhing ;
great quantities of which they dry for their
winter provifion ; and there are ibme forts,
which, when dried, they pull in pieces, and
grind, and then make up in balls of fi(h bread,
being mixed with a portion of barley meal. It
is a very odd, and I fhould apprehend, a v*Ty
unwholefome diet. They have but little idea
of hufbandry here; which would make one
think, that it is in general carried on in the
villages, merely as a means of exigence, by
railing food, and feidom, as a trade, where-
with to get money, in order to purchafe ne-
ceflaries. The peafants, in every part of Swe-
den, go to market for fewer commodities, than
we, in England, can have any conception of.
Their hufbandry, hunting or filhing, feeds
them; moft of their cloathing is ©f their own
manufacture ; many of them with wooden
ihoes of their own making ; fo that fait and
Vol. III. D fome
34 TRAVELS THROUGH
fome brandy are the chief articles, that many
of them purchafe. — This was a journey of
near forty miles. — The 9th, I went near as far
to get to Grunfud : the country is chiefly peo-
pled with fifhermen, but they have more cul-
ture among them, than in that of yefterday's
route. Many of them have little farms, and
feem to be much more at their eafe, than thofe
that are mere filhermen. From this place to
Una in Weft Bothnia, at the diftance of fe-
venty miles, took me a day and a half; the
country is pretty well cultivated. I lodged at
the houfe of a peafant, who had a fmall farm
of his own, and is, I believe, the moft con-
tented, happy man in the world. I offered
him money; but he would take none, faying,
that when he travelled through my country,
he dared to fay, I fhould not refufe him a
night's lodging, and fome victuals. The
honeft man did it from a mere principle of
genuine hofpitality. Aloney, faid he, is of
very little value to me; my farm fupplies my-
felf and my family with moft neceflaries ;
and plenty to fell, for the little we want
to buy. He had a wife, two fbns, and
two daughters; and the whole family feemed
animated with the father's fpirit. There
was a chearfulnefs, a health, and an adivity
in them all, that convinced mc, they were fu-
perlatively happy. The employment of the
thre^
SWEDEN. 35
three men was to hunt, fhoot, and fifh, and
do the mofl laborious works of the huibandry ;
the women ploughed and fowed the ground,
and did mofl: of the other bufinefs of the
farm, that was within their ftrength, and ma-
nufadlured woollen cloth for all the family.
The fale of their fuperfluities bought them,
whatever they wanted to purchafe, fuch as
fait, implements, fome linen, &c. and they
had money enough always left, after paying
their taxes, to lay up fomething againfl emer-
gencies. I think this is as compleat arepre-
fentation of rural happinefs, as can exift. —
This family have nothing to fear. — They are
as independent as an abfolute monarch, and
much more at their eafe. It was with plea-
fure, I entered into the particulars of their
living, and found a cottage, that was the
conftant refidence of peace and content. It
is in fuch fituations and circumftances, that
we fhould look for happinefs ; not in towns,
nor in the palaces of kings, or the feats. of
gentlemen, but in the humble cottage, where
no knowledge enters, but what is applied to
utility.
Una, where I arrived the 21 ft, is one of
the mofl confiderable towns in Weil Bothnia.
It is fituated on a very fine large river, which
falls into the gulf: there is a good harbour for
D 2 fhips.
56 TRAVELS T H U O U G FI
lliips, and the place has a pretty brllk trade
in timber, iron, pitch, tar, &c. and having
two or three merchants, of large property, to
whom feveral fhips belong, they carry on
here a trade with Holland and England, load-
ing out with the produ6ls of the countries
around the gulf, and bringing home a great
variety of commodities, which they fell in all
the ports around the Baltic, in Sweden, Ruflia,
Livonia, Poland, Pruffia and Germany. It is
of very great advantage to a town to be inha-
bited by a few fuch extenfive traders; for the
profits center in it; they employ their townf-
men in their (hipping, and export much more
products, than would be done, if it were not
for them. Thefe merchants alfo much enrich
the place by their fhip-building ; for they
have never lefs than three or four on the ftocks
at a time: thefe (hips they fell, wherever they
can get a market, cargo and all, which they of-
ten do to good advantage ; and this I take to be
the mofi: beneficial commerce, which Sweden,
or any other country, that abounds with plenty
of naval ftores, can carry on; for by building
fhips for fale, fhe gives the lail: hand in ma-
nufacturing all her produ(^s,and confequently
employs as many of her people as pofhble ;
hut when fhe fells the timber, iron, pitch, &c.
i'cparately, the nations, that buy tbem, make
this
SWEDEN. 37
this lail: profit, which is a very coiifiderable
one. No government, therefore, can ever
give a wifer bounty, than that of fo much per
ton, for all fhips built in a country ; it is the
mofl advantageous commerce her lubjecls can
carry on. Louis XIV. was certainly well
advifed by Colbert to give this bounty; and it
was attended with as good effects, as any other
meafure in that fuccefsful admini ft ration.
It took me two days to reach Scornfay, at
the diftance of fourfcore miles. I took up my
quarters the firft night at a village, where, for
the firft time iince I have been in Sweden, I
met with a fet of barbarians : I could per-
fuade none of them to let me into their cot-
tagesj they were fure I was a fpy from the
Mufcovites ; on what errand, or for what
purpofes I was come, they could not tell.
We were now benighted, and in a road,
of which we had no good accounts ; fo 1
found, I was very likely to pafs the night
on horfeback : I went from cottage to
cottage, but all were pofleffed of the fame
idea ; none would be hofpitable. Going
yet further, I came to a cottage in a lonely
fpot ; I determined here to force an en-
trance, and feize the caftle by ftorm, in cale
they would not be prevailed on by fair and
mild requifitions : but ftiil it was in vain ;
D 3 " . they
r
^3 TRAVELS THROUGH
they had no room for us : tho' we offered to pay
for every thing we fhould eat and drink, and for
our horfes, yet it had no effect. Igave aflgnal
(which I had explained to my men) for one of
them to march round, and attack the fortrefs
in flank, while I remained to ftorm it in front.
The plan was executed in a moment : I drew
my piflols, prefented them to the breafl: of the
peafant; my men bound him hand and foot ;
and we fecured the women and children, tying
all their hands behind them, and locking
them up in a room, with the poftilion arm-
ed as a fentinel over them : then we took
poffellion of the manfion, feaffed on the coarfe
provifions we found, and I fet up my bed in one
of the rooms. I paffed a good night, without
any alarm from theprifoners. In the morning,
I fet forward on my journey, leaving the in-
hofpitable owners of the cottage, bound, till
their neighbours clofe to their door, and in
fight of the road, fhould accidentally come to
their relief.
Scornfay is a little town, at the foot of a
mountain, with a river running under its
walls, near as large as the Thames at Chelfea ;
the fliores are very bold, and all covered with
wood. I have fcarcely feen a more romantic
and ftriking fituation : large (hips come up
to the quay, tho' at a confiderable diflance
from
S VV E D E N. 39
from the fea ; thefe load timber chiefly,, and
in general for the Holland market. There
are not any merchants of fubftance in the
town, and their trade does not feem to be at
all regular ; fometimes they have three or
four vefTels in port, and they informed me,
that, many weeks, none at all were to be
From Scornfay, two days journey carried
me to Tame, through a country various; but
about the villages, there is in general fome
cultivated land, enough to feed and maintain
the inhabitants, and to enable them to buy of
the fhipping, what they wanted, which their
own foil could not furnifh. There are no fhops
or pedlars upon this coafl:, except in the more
conliderable towns: all the peafants and in-
habitants buy what they want out of fmall
floop traders, which make annual voyages up
the gulf of Bothnia from Stockholm, This
place is in 6^ degrees of latitude ; and yet I per-
ceived no change in the climate, or in the huf"
bandry . They cultivate the fame plants, as are
to be feen to the fouthward, and apparently
with the fame fuccefs. Probably, the increafed
length of day, proportioned to the degree of
north latitude, enables them to cultivate the
crops of the fouthern latitudes. Barley is a
tender grain, and more congenial to thecli-
D 4 ■ mate
40 TRAVELS THROUGH
mate in Spain than any other ; yet they have
good crops of barley here ; and I am afliired,
they alio fbw it with fuccefs in Lapland ; (o
that thefe moft ufeful plants are, by Provi-
dence, fent to almoft all countries.
The 36th I got to Pitha, the diftance near
thirty miles, through a country, in general of a
marihy foil, which fome of the pcafants have
converted, by draining outfpots, into profitable
meadows; and indeed, I have feen in few places
more induftry,than is apparent in thefe people.
Upon the drier riling grounds they have crops
of turneps and kale for their own and their
cattle's winter provifion, the meadows af-
fording them nothing at that feafon. They
keep large herds of fwine, and feed them in
winter on regular truflbs of boiled roots,
mixed with fmall quantities of peas ; and they
feem to reckon their hogs among the principal
articles of their wealth.
Pitha is a pleafant little iea port, tolerably
well built ; at which they carry on a fmall
coaftnig trade, and export fome timber, &c.
I met with a better inn here, than I had done
for a long while before, and a very civil, in-
telligent landlord. He gave me for my fupper
an excellent difli of fifh, and a piece of very
tender good venifbn, with fome French w'ine,
than which I had drank \\ oiic. All this made
dell.
SWEDEN. 4t
delicate fare, compared with what I met with
at the peafaiit's ; and my reckoning was very
reaibnable. I alked the landlord fomequeftions
about the prefent ftate of the town, and the
neighbouring country. He faid it was a poor
town, and flill a poorer country; that if it
was not for a little (hipping, now and then,
they would have no fuch thing as money
among them. He faid trade declined, and
there was no prolpedl of feeing things better.
He entered into a long differtation upon the
politics of the times, and was deep read, I
found, in the Stockholm gazette.
My next day's journey, the 27th, was to
Lula,- another fea port town, ilanding on the
mouth of a very fine river, which is navigable
a good way, and comes far, from the inner
parts of Lapland, &c. Here is a brifker coaft
trade carried on than at Pitha, becaufe the in-
land navigation is much more confiderable.
They have (hips very often from Stockholm,
which bring various commodities in exchange
for the products of thefe provinces, which
confift of timber, pitch and tar, and many
furs; which find a good market in the capi-
tal. They are fometimes vifited by Englifh
and Dutch fhips, which they reckon highly
advantageous to them ; and from the appear*
ance of their flocks of timber, I fhould think
them
42 TRAVELS THROUGH
them very well provided for loading any fhips
whatever. They have one or two pretty coii-
fiderable merchants among them, who
build fhlps ,here, then load them with tim-
ber, and nej^t, fend fhip and cargo to be fold
in Holland, upon commiffioh. The profits
of this, they faid, are not great ; but when
their feamen are out of employment, and
they have the opportunity of building cheap,
it pay$ them fomething for their trouble and
The 28th', I fet out for Torneo, through a
country very wild and mountainous, with
but few villages jn it ; and as to a gentle-
man's feat, I had not fecn. one for feveral
days. They have fomie appearance of culti-
vation around their cottages ; but it is only
for their own fubfiftance : there is enough,
however, to fhew, that high as the latitude
of this country is, (it is about 66^) it would
produce plentifully for a numerous people ;
but it is very thinly inhabited. Through all
the provinces of Sweden that I have yet tra-
velled, I am convinced, that the principal
caufe of the country being fo thinly inhabited,
is the fmall number of firmers ; there being
only peafants, with land enough round their
cottages, for the fubfiftance ; of the people
within them. Many of tliefe httle fpots
belong
SWEDEN. 43
belong to them ; and none of their children
will ever brook the living in a worfe man-
ner, than their fathers did, which feems to
be a prevalent idea amongft them : fb that a
family, in this fituation, are fure to leave but
one reprefentative, unlefs fome gentleman
builds cottages, and gives away his land
around them, which, it may eafily be ima-
gined, is not very common. This prevents
marriages among the fons; for, as they can-
not have their own cottages and lands, they
live at home unmarried, with the brother
who inherits : thus little or no increafe hap-
pens, unlefs by mere accident. But if all
thefe peafants lived in hired cottages, with-
out any land, and the country was cultivated
by great farmers, who could afford to pay
them money for their labour, the farmers
would grow ten times the produce, which is
now produced, and export all, that was not
confumed ; which would be a conflant mo-
tive to them to increafe their bufinefs, and, of
courfe, to fix their fons in other farms. In
the cafes of fome patriotic perfons, who have
made improvements in hufbandry, and built
houfes, we found, before, that the people in-
cfeafed as fafl: as could be wifhed.
Torneo flands better than any other town
^n the gulf, for the trade of Lapland, which
is
44 TRAVELS THROUGH
is not inconfiderable in furs, fbme of which
are very valuable. It lies near three con-
siderable rivers, which flow through all Swe-
dish Lapland, and open a fmall commerce
with Norway and Mufcovite Lapland; fo that
at Torneo I found more fhipping, than I had
feen at any place, I had lately been at on this
lea. Ships come from Stockholm hither,
laden with all forts of neceffaries for thefe
northern provinces, and carry their produ6ls
back in return. Hence the town is tolerably
well built, the ftreets broad and flraight, and
very well paved, and fbme of the merchants,
of which there are a good number, very rich.
They build' ^*iips, and iit them out on trading
voyages, and make every effort to employ
their money fo, as it may bring in good in-
tereft ; but, with all their endeavours, they
are not able to increafe the trade of the place,
further, than what the fame men could carry
on at any other; which is owing to a want
of population, and wealth in the country be-
hind them; fo that they are much limited in
the commodities, they export, and alio in the
quantity of thofe, they import. And indeed,
it is generally found, that agnculture, well
purfued, mufl increafe the people very much;
manufadures will next arife, to fatlsty their
greatefl wants ; and then comes commerce,
to
SWEDEN. 45
to fupply the reft. This is the natural chain,
and it is in vain to think of breaking or re-
verfing it.
July 31ft, I left Torneo, and reached Coy-
rannum, a little town on the coaft, which is
fubfifted chiefly by fifhing. The inhabitants,
in the moft northerly parts of the two Both-
nias, have a different appearance from the
Swedes in the ibuthern provinces of the king-
dom ; they are lefs informed, of a ihorter
ftature, and more irregular in their drefs,
many of them, lewing together the ikins of
foxes, and other wild creatures, whofe furs
are not of value, and make their cloathing, in
a much rougher and more ordinary manner;
nor are they fo intelligent or comprehenfive ;
but they are a very limple and harmlefs peo-
ple, and appear to be very humane. I found
moft of them, exceedingly refpe<5lful and
civil. Their ordinary falutation is not bow-
ing like the Swedes in other parts : thefe
countrymen take hold of your right-hand, and
lay it over their left, making ftrange faces at
the fame time. The next town, of the leall
confequence, is Salo, which carries on a very
fmall trade, as they informed me ; the dis-
tance is near eighty miles, which I performed
in two days. And here let me fay a word or
two in praife of die little Dalecarliaa horfes,
which
46 TRAVELS THROUGH
which have brought me with fuch expedition
through fome of the moft dangerous roads in
Europe, and withoutoncehavingfailedus, tho*
fix in number; and I think, they look as well,
as before they fet out on a journey of fo many
hundred miles. I have fo great a value for
them, that I am determined to carry them to
England; and I am now fo accuflomed to the
hard exercife of riding thirty or forty miles a
day, that I feel not the leafl: inconvenience
from it.
Augufl the 2d, I got to Salo ; the country,
through which I travelled, not mountainous,
being in general a plain, riling into fmall
hills; much of it well cultivated; and, what
furprized me, by farmers, who hire of the
landlords, confiderable tracks of land : their
chief riches are cattle; they have large droves
of black cattle, many fheep, and numerous
herds of hogs. The method, in which thefe
farmers pay their labourers, the peafants, is
in kind : thofe, who attend the flieep, have fo
many kept for them with the farmers ; the
hogs the fame; and the men, who take care of
the cattle, have fome cows kept for them.
The landlords rent is paid in corn and cattle.
All this is neceflary, in a country, where mo-
ney is amazingly fcarce. They fow wheat,
and all the other forts of grain, pulfe and
roots.
SWEDE N. 47
roots, which I have feen in other parts of Swe-
den; tho' I do not think, their crops are fo
good, as in mountainous tracks; which, I ap-
prehend, is for want of equal fhelter, and the
ibil not being fo good as in fmall vales, that
receive the walh of many mountains. The
turnep and carrot crops, with fields of kale,
they cultivate, I was informed, more to the
north, than any place where I have been ;
which fhews how valuable thefe plants are
for fupporting themfelves and their cattle.
There are fome (hip loads of different forts of
provifions,that go every fummer from Salo,
for Stockholm and the fouthern parts of the
Baltic; they do not get money in return, but
fuch manufactures and commodities, as they
want.
My next route was to Nicarlby, a little "fea
port town, with fbme trifling commerce, near
ninety miles from Salo. I did not get there
till the 5th, twice taking up my lodging with
very hofpitable farmers. One of them, at a
little village called Kohinglens, was much fu-
perior in his ideas, and in his hufbandry, to
any thing I had feen of late; and this was a
pleafing ciroumftance to me, as I got to his
houfe early in the afternoon. I took a walk
with him through the fields, nearell: to his
dwelling; and the accounts, he gave me, ap-
peared
48 TRAVELS THROUGH
peared very rational. His crops were all verj
fine and clean ; and I obferved, that his corn
fields were very numerous, and of large ex--
tent, fpreading over feveral hills within fight;
the fize of his farm exceeding in the whole a
thoufand acres, and a great portion of it un-
der culture. He gets two quarters of wheat
an acre, and fometimes more, three quarters
of barley and beany, ''arid fometimes four of
oats; and his root crops all appeared very
good. He told me, there were feveral other
farms in the neighbourhood, and that all of
them belonged to the baron Bothmer, who
refided conflantly at Stockholm; that money
was fo fcarce in this country, that the other
tenants paid the agent in kind for rent ; but
he finding that this was a great lofs to them,
from the low prices, at which the products were
reckoned, thought of paying in money; and
this he planned, from having once ufed the
fea. All the produ6ls of their farms were afi
double the price, at Stockholm, to what the
landlords agents allowed for them. This in-
duced him to buy a floop of fifty tons, and to
hire a couple of failors, to try a voyage to
Stockholm in September, carrying a loading
of wheat, barley, pork, beef, mutton, wool,
furs, &c. and made it up with timber. The
experiment turned out as he could wifh: he
kept
SWEDEN. 49
k&pt his (loop, perfuaded one of the failors
to live with him on (hore, as well as aboard,
and made an annual trip upon the fame bufi-
iiefs for feverai years, paying his rent in mo-
ney. He found this Icheme fo very advanta-
geous, that, as his Kufbandry inereafed, by
improving the bad and wafte lands of his
farm> he found, he could load his veflbl twice
with the marketable produce of his farm,
befides what he difpofed of in the neighbour-
hood ; and he has now inereafed it to three
voyages, which he makes regularly every
year, and he himfelf fells the cargo. He has
built a kind of flied over a dry dock, where
he lays up his floop, and is very careful of her.
Shewill not hold out many years longer; how--
ever, he propoles buying one of 80 or 100
tons,findingthe method he purfues, of fo much
confequence to his profit ; for this ready fale
of his products enables him every year to
make improvements. He has, fince he adled
thus, improved a piece of the wafte belonging
to his farm every year; which he will conti-
nue to do, until all is in culture. I ihould ob-
ferve, that his farm lies remarkably well for
executing this work ; for it is all on the fea
coaft ; and there is a fmall creek runs up
into a pent, near his houfe, which has depth
of water, fufficient for a fhip of two hun-
VoL. Ill, E dred
'50 TRAVELS THROUGH
dred tons; but, at the fame time, that he en-
joys this advantage, there are hundreds of
other farms, equally well fituated, around the
gulf of Bothnia, whereof the farmers have no
notion of making fuch an ufe.
*_ Lmuft remark, that this inftance is a proof,
isrnong many others of a different nature, of
the great confequence of a regular market
for the farmer in all countries to depend upon.
This a£live and enterprizing man ftruck out
ib- original a way of difpofing of his produdts,
merely for want of a market at home : had he
been poffeffed of that, he certainly would not
have been at the expence of finding one, at la
great a diftance. Thus improvements in huf^
bandry are not at their highefl value, nor
indeed can be undertaken in their due extent,
without a rxiarket, for the products fo raifed,
being gained. There are many ways of obtain-
ing it: the increafe of population, caufcd by
the improvements, takes fome; manufaftures,
to the full amount of the people's wants, pro-
vide more mouths, which carry off another
large portion ; and then commerce muft be
brought in, to carry off the remainder; firft,
by the number of people fhe fixes on the fpot;
and fecondly, by exportation : then the having
gained a full market for all, that can be pro-
duced, is fuch an encouragement to the clafs>
■who
S W E D E l^r. 51
whd cultivate the foil, tliat thej will neceffa-
rily carry their improvements very far : Not
fo far, however, as they are capable of going,
without being puflied on by encouragement
and example from thofe above them. Of this
truth, we fee inftances every day, in the coun-
tries befl: peopled, and in general beft culti-^
vated, and where all the produds of the lands
fell at as high prices as any where elfe. Thus
in England, what confiderable tracks of land
are at this day, as wild as if they were in the
latitude of Lapland, and amounting, accord-
ing to the accounts of many knowing per-
fons, to a feventh part of the kingdom ? With
"US no encouragements, no markets are want-
ing. What therefore fliould be the reafon of
fuch a ftrange negledl ? It can be owing to
nothing, but the ignorance and obftinacy of
our lower fort of people, who will not be
perfuaded, that any land can be good for ufe,
that was not cultivated by their forefathers t
-and this fupinenefs we find amongll men, who
Ihew themfelves lb well qualified in the ma-
nagement of land already in culture. There-
fore, as none of thefe motives are flrong
enough for bringing into cultivation the wafte
lands of any county, it is abfolutely neceflary^
that public laws and private endeavours be
naade to co-operate ; which cannot be done.
52 TRAVELS THROUGH
without making it the interefl: of landlords to
undertake and encourage improvements, be-
yond that {landing intereft, which the profit
of the work always carries with it; for in-
flance, it might be advifeable to lay heavy
.taxes upon wafte lands, as long as they con-
tinued uncultivated ; and, in cafe, any old cuf-
toms or rights, fuch as that of commonage
upon them, ihould obfl:ru(5l fuch beneficial
laws,, then to abolifh all fuch antient culloms,
and allow every man to indole, and do, what
he thought befl, with every part of his own
property. There are many other means, which
might be put in execution, in order to pufh
on all men to a vigorous refolution to improve
the waftes belonging to them ; and if the fub-
jedi was confidered, with any degree of atten-
tion, numerous methods might be found for
efie£lually anfwering the purpofe.
It is very furprifing, that I fhould not, in
travelling i'o many miles upon the fea coafts
of Sweden, have met with more inilances af
this penetration, than the fingle one of the
farmer in queflion. This kingdom has a vafl
line of coaft, numerous bays, gulfs that jet
far into the provinces, with very many navi-
gable rivers; and, at the fame time, that thele
opportunities are fb abundant, a vaft track of
country lies adjacent to them, in the higheft
want
SWEDEN. 5-
want of them,, and to which they would he
of fuch ufe, as to advance the vahie of the
lands very confiderably. Surely, this (houid
be a very great motive to all the land-
lords upon thefe coafts, w^ho reiide upon their
eflates, to put in pra(5lice, means fb much at
their command, of advancing the value of
them.
Nicarlby is a place of no great confidera-
tion. They told me, it was once a town,
that carried on a great trade; but when the
Ruffians over-run the province, they burnt it
to the ground, and quite ruined feveralof the
greateft merchants in it; lince which, it has
never recovered its trade, the commerce at
prefent carried on here, not being at all confi-
derable. It is not however badly built, and
the ftreets are regular. The church is fmall,
but very neat. They have a trifling manufac-
ture of very cgarfe woollen goods, for the
fiipply of the neighbouring country; but it
does not feem to be in a flourifhing iltua-
tion .
The 6th, I got to Vero, another little town
on the gulf, with an exceeding good port, and
a tolerably built quay, which is the only good
{ireet in the town. There is a little trade
upon the coaft, and to Stockholm, which
coniifts principally of timber. There are not
E 3 above
54. TRAVELS THROUGH
above feyeii or eight hundred fouls in the.
place, and it appears tq be but a poor one,
Waffay, which I reached the 7th, is a place
,of greater note ; it has more trade ; and fe-
veral merchants, tolerably wealthy, Inhabit it,
who have fhips of their own, in which they
export large quantities of timber ; but they
want a home demand, to load their vefiels back
again; for the country behind the town, after
a few miles, is one continued foreft, without
.any cultivated fpots or villages, an4 reaches,
from hence quite to the White Sea, through
feveral Ruffian provinces, at the dlftance of
pear {even hundred miles, and fcarcely anjf
inhabitants to be found the whole way. I
came accidentally by this knowledge ; for,
juft after I had prdered fupper, the landlord
of the inn came in to inform me, that in the
next room were a fet of gentlemen of the
town, aflernbled at a club, who, underlland-
jng, there was a ftranger in the houfe,
fent their compliments to him, inviting
him to ipend the evening with them. I
thought, I might as well make myfelf ac-
quainted with a Swedifh club, and therefore
returned for anfwer, that I fhould be very
happy in waiting on them ; but it was my
pii§fortune, not to underftand Swedifh, and I
had
S W E D E .N. $5
had no interpreter but my fervant. They re-
plied, that if I "underflood French, they
bad one among them, who could converfe
with me; if not, defired I would bring my
interpreter. This was v^ry well; fb I went
to them, and upon my entering the room,
they all arofe, and received me after the man-
ner of the country. There were nine of
them; one, who feemed to be the principal
man amongfi them, and who was the gentle-
man, that underiiood the French language,
was a very corpulent man, who complained
of being much affli£led with the gout. I
found, h€ was a merchant in the town, who
had formerly been captain of a merchant fhip;
and I obferved, that they gave him the title of
Captain, by way of honour ; tho' I fhould
have thought it, for a man of property, ra-
ther a reflediion. He was about fifty years old,
a lively, talkative fellow, had travelled
almoft every part of the world; and as fuch
extenfive travelling, tho' aboard a merchant
fhip, is very uncommon, in the remote pro-
vinces of Sweden, I perceived, they confidered
him almofl: as an oracle, and gave way to his
opinion in mod points. He craved my name,
my country, and my bufinefs in Sweden, tho'
in a good-natured way. Upon my fatlsfying
him in all thefe particulars, and his informing
E 4 his
56 TRAVELS THROUGH
his friends of it, I found, I gained much in all
their good graces, by thinking their country
worth viewing thro' curiofity. The reft of
the company appeared to be merchants, cap-
tains of fhips, and the better fort of ihop-
keepers, but all decently and neatly drefled,
and feemed, from the manner in which things
were conducted, to be people of fubflance.
The worft of their company was their pipes ;
they all fmoaked tobacco incefl'antly ; and as
the room was but a fmall one, I thought, I
fhould have been fufFocated at firft. They
made many enquiries after England, and our
manners and cuftoms in many particulars; in
which I fatisfied them, much to their appa-
rent entertainment. I, in my turn, queftion-
ed them about the manufactures and comr
merce of their town and neighbourhood, and
they gave me an account of every thing,
they could, and I believe, a very juft one.
They faid, the trade of their town was at a
very low ebb; that it was too inconfiderable
a place, and the country around it too thinly
inliabited, to furnifli much trade ; but that
tliey traded a good deal all around the Bal-
tic, being fatisfied with commerce, where-
tver they found it; that they generally load-
ed timber for England or Holland, and then
got a freight to where-eyer they could; if not
oa
SWEDEN. 5^
on the merchant's account, to whom theyfent
the timber, yet on their own, by taking in a
cargo of fuch goods, as they could get off at
fome port or other in the Baltic, and never lo-
fing any opportunity to fell fhip and all. This
commerce, on an average of feven years, pays,
they affured me, very poor intereft for their
money: now and then, they meet with lucky
voyages, that anfwer greatly ; but fbmetimes,
they are forced to go from port to port, in
England and Holland, before they can fell a
cargo, and perhaps at laft, after a great lofs
of time, under prime coft and charges ; fb
that they fhould not make fuch ventures,
were it not, that all their trade depends upon
keeping fome ihipping in motion, by forcing
things in this manner. The mofl: profitable
part of thele voyages is the fale of the fliip,
when it happens, and that they endeavour to
pufh as much as poffible, tho' at low prices,
in order to keep their fhip carpenters toge-
ther, by finding them conftant work. One
of them fiiid, *' Ah ! Sir, we muft be very
induftrioijs, through a long life, before we
can make afmall fortune:" which indeed, from
the defcription of their trade, I thought true
enough.
Upon my enquiring after their manufac-
tures, they friid, they had none, except a fa-
bric
58 TRAVELS THROUGH
brie or two of very coarfe woollens, for the
peafants wear; and that was carried on, merely
becaufe imported goods of that fort were pro-
hibited, tho' they could buy them in England,
and fell them at Waflay, much cheaper, than
their own manufacturers could make them.
But, faid they, trade is fhackled and deftroyed
by the regulations, prohibitionsand laws lately
made; fothatifourgovernorsgoon much long*
er, as they have done of late, we fhall have no
trade at all; not a fhip to navigate. We could
get cargoes of many forts of goods in Eng-
land, that would go off well in Sweden, but
we are prohibited ; and for no good reafon ;
for we fhould not pay for them with money;
we could get all with timber, iron, pitch, tar,
and hemp. This would keep our {hips em-
ployed ; whereas your countrymen, finding,
that we do not take your goods, go to the
Danes and the Mufcovites. And for that
matter, who can blame you ? The fault is all
in our government.
I CQuld not help fmiling at the warmth of
the honefl: merchant who faid this ; and, from
what I have, at various times, heard, fmce I
left Stockholm, I muft confefs, I do not fee
the policy of laws, in relation to trade,
which have been lately made in Sweden.
The merchants complaining is a inle, very
rarely
SWEDEN. 5^
tarely a falfe one, to judge by. It may be
faid, that thefe traders and captains vifibly
concern themfelves with nothing more, than
getting freights for their Ihips, and would
like any trade, however detrimental to the
kingdom, provided it anfwered their purpofes.
But in reply to this, it might be obferved,
that the ftate of the cafe in queftion ftrikes
out all fuch fuppofitions ; for they wanted to
trade to a country, againft whom the balance
always was, in every period of the mutual
commerce; confequently, a fafe and an advan-
tageous trade, upon the very appearance of it.
They alfo wanted to load their fhips out, as
well as home, being equally defirous of carry-
ing out their own produds, as bringing home
our manufaftures. At the fame time, that
thefe unfavourable circumftances appear, the
navigation of Sweden is enlarged, and the moft
valuable part of all her manufadiures, fhip*
building, extended: fo that her eagernefs to
make her ftibje6ls manufa(5lui;e every thing
for themfelves, was aiming at an impoffibi-
lity, and being, in all the intermediate fleps,
much too precipitate.
Upon my enquiring into the ftate of the
country to the eaft of Waffay, they told me,
it was one unbounded and almoft uninhabited
fpreft ; that no cultivation was to be met
with,
6d TRAVELS THROUGH
with, till I came to the province of Savolaxia,
and that nine villages out of ten in that coun-
try were deftroyed by the Ruffians, and the
people carried off, and fettled in wafte tracks
in Ingria and Carelia, where they were fo
well treated afterwards, having good lands
-given to every family, houfes built for them,
and furnilhed ; cattle given them and im-
plements to cultivate the ground with, and
at the fame time, no taxes taken of them ;
that they found themfelves happier under the
Ruffian defpotifm, than under their own free
government ; and, as a proof of this, they
have drawn away whole villages from our
provinces. Upon my enquiring, if it was
owing to any evils, attending the climate or
foil, or its produds, that fuch a vaft country
was in fo wild a ftate; they replied, that, on
the contrary, it was a country, which would
fupport very numerous inhabitants ; for the
foil in the vales, and upon the gentle hills,
was fuppofed to be equal to any in Sweden ;
and that they had lands, much more to the
north, in a ftate of profitable culture; that
the forefts are full of very fine timber, which
would affift the inhabitants confiderably in all
their undertakings: In a word, that much of
it was a very dcfirble country, and wanted
little, befidcs people to inhabit it.
This
SWEDEN. 6r
This inftance of To large a track of country
being uninhabited, and the emigrations to
Ruffia, I muft own, made a ftronger impref-
iion on me, in disfavour of the prefent go-
vernment, than all the circumftances, I had
heard before; for I take it to be, of all others,
the ftrongeft proof in the world, that there is
an effential mifchief, preying in the vitals
of a country, when its inhabitants leave
it, to fettle in the lands of other potentates.
Men, who are brought up to the arts, or
to commerce, and are the inhabitants of
towns, often emigrate, without a country,
being in any refped on the decline, and even
without its being a fign of any evil in the
government ; becaufe there are always unquiet
fpirits, and broken fortunes, in thofe clafles,
that will ever be rambling : but for the pea-
fan ts to find their lot fo hard, as to quit the
country of their fathers, from a prolped of
meeting with a better fate in another, and
even in an enemy's country, is perhaps, of all
other proofs, that could be brought, the
llron-geil, to fhew, that a government is very
bad, or very badly admlnillred.
One in the company, upon feeing me foli-
citous in thefe enquiries after thefe tracks of
wafle country, faid, " If you are a gentle-
man of curiofity in thefe things, you may
con-
6^ TRAVELS THROUGH
convince yourfelf of it : I have a fmall eflate
on the north point of the Holla lake, where
are afamily or two, I have fettled on it ; I now
and then take an excurfion thither, for the
amufement of (hooting and fifhing ; if you
will accompany me thither, I will attend you,
and, perhaps, I may fhew fome fporting, you
will like. I thanked him for this offer, which
pleafed me, on the firil mention of it, but I
told him, that I feared I fhould be troublefome
to him in it, and that if he did not undertake
the journey foon, it would not be in my
power to accept the kind offer, becaufe I was
under a neceffity of travelling fome hundreds
of leagues before winter. My good-natured
Swede anfwered, that my company, fo far
from being a trouble, would be a pleafure to
him, and that he would fet out, as foon as I
pleafed, as the time was perfe<5tly equal to
him; that his friend Mr. Schronburn (in the
company) was to go with him, and he be-
lieved, fetting out foon, would luit him too;
which being aflented to, the 9th in the
morning was fixed for our departure. Upon
my faying that I was bound for Peterfburgh,
they informed me, that I might have the
cholceof two roads ; either acrofs Swedifh Fin-
land to Abo, if I wanted to fee that province,
and then to coafl the gulf of Finland to Pe-
terijburg ;
SWEDEN. 63
terfburg; or elfe, that I might ftrike down
foiith-eaft to Wyburg, and fo to Peterfburg,
which would be a very fhort cut. This I
faid, I would confider of. I afked Mr. Hir-
,zel (for that was the name of the merchant
who made me the offer) how many miles it
was to his eftate ? he faid about one hun-
dred and twenty, which would be near three
days journey, if I was well mounted. He
faid, there was a cottage, about forty miles
from Waffay, where we could lodge the firft
night; but that the fecond muft be fpent on
our horfes, for there were no more houfes.
This is no great inconvenience, in a climate,
that has fuch long days.
This point being fettled, we proceeded in
our converfation, and fupper relieved me, for
a time, fjom the effluvia of their pipes. They
had ordered the befl: entertainment, the town
could afford: the fifh was the principal, and
the beft part; there was alfb wild fowl and
venifbn. The wines were tolerable, fbme
from Spain, but chiefly Rhenifh ; however,
there were three or four in the company, that
feemed to pay their addreiTes to a bottle of
brandy, more than to any other liquor ; for
they had drank it feveral turns, as if it was a
common beverage. All the people, in thefe
northern kingdoms, are immoderately fond of
fpi.
64 TRAVELS TMROtJGH
fpiritous liquors: the feverity of a long win'-
ter leads them Into it fo much, that they do
not eafily leave it off in the fummer, and the
excefs to which they carry it, is very prejudicial
to their health. After fupper they all took to
their pipes again, to my no fmall mortifica-
tion ; and pufhing the bottle about pretty
brifkly, they were not long, altogether fo
clear-headed, as I could have wiftied for, in
order, to have gained fbme more intelligence.
As it was fettled, that I fhould be in town
all the next day, the principal among them,
the captain, Invited me to dine with him,
and, at the fame time, alked as many of the
company, as their avocations would allow. I
accepted his invitation, and went accordingly,
and found a company of fix or feven ; among
whom was a clergyman, an elderly man, of
an agreeable afpe(£t ; as he did not iinder-
fland French, I was fome time with but little
converfation with him; but he aiking me, if
1 fpoke Latin, I was taken by furprize, and
after a little confufion, recolleded myfelf
enough, to carry on a tolerable converfation
with him afterwards, and found him a fen*>
fible, modeft man. I alked him his opinion
oftheprefent ftate of Sweden, mentioning
what had been told me the night before. He
faid, the account was a very true one, as to
all
^ S W E D E N* 6s
all this country: I replied, laws that were ge-
neral, miift generally afFe6t the whole king-
dom, and be equal every where ; he faid no ;
that there were great exceptions in many
inftances in favour of the nobility, and their
lands. Upon my mentioning the fubftance of
fome converfations, I had had with a noble-
man of Stockholm (meaning Baron Mifller)^
he faid, that it was partly true, but moftly in
reference to the nobility ; and affured me,
that in feveral inftances, Sweden v/as in a very
indifferent condition.
Part of this (as I juft now remarked) is, I
believe, true; and,asIhaveelfewhereobferved,
there is alfo great appearance of general good,
in the regulations and laws lately made for
the encouragement of ufeful undertakings ;
and, w^hat is yet of more confequence, the
appearance of the peafants, &c. and the eafy
manner, in which they live, and through moft
of the provinces on the other fide the gulf of
Bothnia, is a ftrong prefumption, that there is
no great degree of oppreffion among them.
Therefore, the bad ftate of affairs in the
eaflern provinces, mufl beowing, infomemea^
fure at ieaft, to fome local caufes, that have
not a general effe(£l. In this I was the more
confirmed, from mentioning the very bad ap-
pearance, the emigration of the peafants in the
Vol. III. F provinces
66 TRAVELS THROUGH
provinces- adjoining the Ruffians, made, which
lookedlikeavery tyrannical government ; that,
he faid, was not fo ftrong an inftance, as it
might leem; for he beheved, they did not fo
much fly from oppreffion or want at home, as
to temptation abroad; for the Ruffians had
emidaries conftantly among them, promifing
mountains of rewards to all thole, that would
fettle in Ruffia : and as they fully performed
everv thing to many of the firft emigrants,
it induced numbers to follow their example;
and I muft allow, that the encouragement
c;iven by the Ruffians was i'o much greater,
tiian it was poffible, they fhould well receive
in their own country, without having every
thing in it reverled; that they were really
bribed away, in hopes, that the fame of their
treatment would occafion a continual increafe
in tiieir numbers, w^hich has certainly taken
place; though the emigrants, I am informed,
do not receive the fame encouragement, as for-
merly. Therefore, in this inilance, the de-
population of our provinces is not to be attri-
buted to any aclive evil at home, but to the
artful fuggeiVions of a very cunning neigh-
bour. 1 replied, that it was very bad politics
in the- government to allow of luch emigra-
tions ;that they fliould have flopped them by
force, if a fimplc h\v would not have had
the
S W E D E N. -67
the effedt. He agreed in this, but (aid, that
if the emigrating peafants lived not upon the
eftates of the nobiHty, they cared very little
about their flaying in Sweden, or going to
Ruffia: the worthy clergyman further ob-
ferved, that there was not, in thefe frontier
provinces, one paftor to ten flocks; fo that the
people had never an opportunity of being in-
formed j in any refpedt, of what they owed to
their native country.
My friend the Captain, who had made the
entertainment, obferved, that all this was very
true; but that the origin of their evils was
fufFering the Mufcovites to conquer the pro-
vinces around the gulf of Finland; for that
brought them a neighbour, that could not but
prove deftru6tive in every relpedt. When that
nation was fhut out from the Baltic, Sweden
poflefled mofl of the export trade, which (he
now enjoys on that fea ; and he juftly obferved,
that this was owing altogether to the mif-
chiefs brought on his country, by that madman
Charles XII. This was a propofition, that
nobody could contradict ; for the truth of it
was evident: but I remarked, that Sweden
had enough left to carry her to a much higher
pitch of wealth and profperity , than flie at pre-
fent enjoyed; her bufinefs therefore was not to.
regret, what could not be recalled, but to do^
F 2 what-
'6B TRAVELS THROUGH
whatever her preient fituation demanded, to
make amends for paft failures. They all feem-
ed, much more ta wifh, than to expe6l this.
The next morning, I fet out for Mr. Hir-
zeFs territory, having infifted upon providing
baggage, horfes, and the neceffary provi-
fions for the whole journey, which, I thought,
was the leaft I eould do, in return for their
civility. Both Mr. Hirzel and Mr. Schorn-
brun were mounted on little horfes like mine,
which they here call North-country horfes.
For a few miles fram Waflay, the country is
partly cultivated; that is, you here and there
fee a village, with fome cultivated lands about
it; but they are thinly fcattered: and we pre-
fently got into the wilds, wherein is no appear-
ance of any inhabitants; and this continued
through the wholeday's journey of forty miles,
till we came to a miferable cottage, which is
a ki nd of ftragler from a neighbouring-village,
which is half depopulated. The country is
chiefly compofed of one continued foreft, the
trees of which are of a very fine and beauti-
ful growth. I was curious to take notice of
the appearance, which the land carries in the
tracks, where it is clear of timber, and found,
that it is, in 2:eneral, covered with a toler-
able grafs; and the foil is a good rich colour-
ed loam, tending to a clay; but, in fome parts.
Honey ; evidently much fuperior to that of
many
SWEDEN. 69
many places in Sweden, which are mofl profit-
ably cultivated. It was therefore extremely
plain, that it was not a fault in the country,
which has been the occafion of its defolate
ftate.
The few inclofures around the cottage, were
a proof alfo of this ; for although the peafant
did not feem to be one of the moil: induf-
trious ; yet he had very good crops of barley
and oats, and alfo of turneps, and he had a
herd of cows, which fed upon the wafie, with
a parcel ofyoung cattle, none of which feemed
111 their looks, to complain of their pailure.
I fet my bed up in the fame room, in which
my fellow-travellers made theirs, of clean
ftraw, -upon which they feemed to repofc as
well, as on any down ; which was not the
worfe for an hearty fupper, we had made on
iifli and ham ; and they paid their refpedls
pretty moderately to the brandy and the wine,
I had brought, which, with a continual fmoak-
ing, feemed to pafs away the evening much
to their fatisfadlion. The next morning, we
continued our journey, through a wild coun-
try, which I fhould apprehend, muft have been
once tolerably inhabited; for we had a great
road all the way, though overgrown with
grafs and weeds, but faw not the leaft appear-
ance of any habitation. The timber, in this
F 3 region
70 TRAVELS THROUGH
region is very fine, and in vaft quantities,
and the foil in moft places, rich and deep : it
is impoffible. but a good governnnent acllvely
exerted, might people fuch tracks of country,
fo very defirable, compared with many others,
well flocked with inhabitants. We rode
about thirty miles; and then, alighting, turn-
ed our horfes to graze; and, fpreading our cloth
and provifions on a dry green bank, well
flickered with wood, by the fide of a ftream,
we made an hearty meal, and refted ourfelves
about four hours, all of us getting a nap
for refrefhment : we then fet forwards at an
eafypace; and, travelling through the twilight,
we reached the banks of the great lake, on
which my friend's plantation is, about two
o'clock at noon ot the nth.
The country here is very fine. The lake
is a noble one, of a varying breadth, from
three to more than twenty miles over ; and
the length is above an hundred ; there are
numerous iflands in it, fome of them two or
three miles broad, and many others lefs. At
the narthern point of it, is one of thele iflands,
about two miles from the main land, which
is a part of Mr. Hir^el's pofTefTion. We came
down to a few cottages on the fhore, which
he has built, and where a floop lies, always in
jcadincfa to carry him over; into this we got,
leaving
SWEDEN. 71
ieaving our horfes in a barn by the cottage,
and taking all our baggage with us in the vef-
fel. In croffing the water, I was much de-
iighted with the views; the hills, in Ibme
places, riie very boldly from the lake, which
has a beautiful effed, as the whole country is
covered with thick woods. The ifland is
four miles long, and three broad , confifting of
Various land, but in general high and dry, and
moft of it a wood: Mr. Hirzel built a fmail
houfe here, of four "rooms on a floor, having
two tolerable parlours, and the wdiole neatly
'furnifhedt in it we found a fervant and his
family, who has the management of a fmall
farm : near it are barns, ftables, and other
offices; and four cottages, which he alfo built,
and are inhabited by peafants ; to each of
whom he affigned a fmall farm, which he
obliges them to cultivate very neatly.. It is
highly necflary, that, they fhould be good far-
mers; for the fubfiflence of themleves and
cattle much depends on it, being at fuch a
diftance from any other habitation., .Mr. Hir-
zel diredls his own manager fo, as, to obUge
him always to have-good ftore of all produds
before hand.' He has- a cellar well filled,
plenty of fifh and game at command ; and his
farm yields him all common proviiions, with
gQod fowls: lb that he is always fure of find-
F 4 ing
72 TRAVELS THROUGH
ing good eating and drinking: he has a large
boat-houfe, under which his fioop can run ;
and feveral open boats. After dinner, we took
a walk about his farm, which feemed to be
very well managed, and the crops good ; at
; which I do not wonder ; for the foil of the
'Sfland is a fine black, dry, deep mold, peculiar^
ly adapted, I fhould fuppofe, for all hufban-
dry applications. As I had exprefled a defire
of failing a little on the lake, for the pleafure
of viewing the woods, Mr. Hirzel manned the
floop, in the morning of the 12th; and hav-
ing laid in a flock of proviiions and my bed,
faid, he would make a three days voyage for
my entertainment; he fteered fouth by the
eaft fliore, and returned by the weft : we made
many leagues, having a favourable wind, gain-
ing very near the fouth end of the lake : no-
thing could be more agreeable ; the water
beautiful, and the furrounding country ex-
tremely various. We lived well; for his nets
and hooks were excellently managed, and
fupplied lis with many forts of fine fifti in
great perfection, which we drefled and eat
with an admirable ftomach. We caught one
Carp, that weighed fixteen pounds, and Mr.
Hirzel told me, that he has taken them of a
larger fize; but they are not fo well tnfted, as
thole of about iix or fcycn pounds. Here arc
alfo
SWEDEN. 73
aifo pike, and tench, but not equal to what I
have eat elfewhere ; eels exceeding good ; and a
fifli about the fize of a trout, and of the fame
(hape, but much fuperior flavour, which they
call ?ifnout. I muft confefs, that this was one
of the moil agreeable voyages I had ever made.
We had about half a day, in which the wind
being brifk, the waves ran pretty high, and
gave us the exercife of beating over them.
The 15th, Mr. Hirzel dedicated to {hoot-
ing, for which fport we did not go off the
iflands; he had a leaih of fpaniels there, that
found us plenty of game ; thefe were pheafants
.^nd hares, with a few partridges ; but none
of them equal in tafle to the fame forts in
England; we had a very good day's work to
range about only a part of the ifland ; and ha-
ving killed game enough for our ufe and
amufement, returned home.
Mr. Hirzel informed me, that he had this
ifland, which contains about eight thoufand a-
cres of land, and a track contiguous to the cot-
tages, where wefirft took water, of more than
four thoufand more, by being the principal
creditor of a man at Abo, who failed ; they
were valued at the price of the country, and
rated to him for fomething more, than three
thoufand pounds; but he had them under five
and twenty hundred, which is not four of our
Shillings
74 TRAVELS THROUGH
fhilllngs an acre for the feefimple, including
all the fine woods on them. I exprefled my a-
ftonifhment at this ; but he replied, that he
had loft confiderably by the purchafe; having
bought it for a country-feat forpleafure, that
when he purchafed it, it did not yield a lingle
{hilling; and that the fjms, w^hichhe had hi-
therto laid out, did not much more, than pay the
interefl: of them. I anfwered,that flill I fhould
conceive, the purchafe might be made to anfwer
extremely well, by improving the lands and
converting them into farms: He faid, no; he
was very fearful, that no money would arife,
if it was all improved; for markets were at
luch an immenle diftancc, that they could pay
in nothing but produdls. But faid he, I have
hopes of making it anfwer another way. From
the very fouthermoil: point of the lake, there
is a coniiderable river, which falls into the
gulf of Finland, at the mouth of it, there is
a fmall trading town, which increafes in fhip-
ping and commerce every day; upon that ri-
ver there is a great foreft, which belongs to a
nobleman ; and the merchants are employed
at prefent in negotiating with him for liberty
to cut what timber they pleafe on his eflate;
if they fuccced, they defign to be at the ex-
pence of cutting a fhort canal to efcape a tall,
jn order to carry down the timber to their
/hipping;
SWEDEN. 75
flipping ; if that is efFe6led, there will be a
navigation opened from this ifland into the
gulf of Finland ; and I (hall poflefs a market
at once for my timber, which will turn to
greater account, than any thing elfc that could
be done; and after the timber is cleared, I can
then apply it to huibandry-purpofes, as the
fame market will take off my rents, received
in kind of tenants, or raifed by myfelf, as
well as my timber. So that the moment
the merchants fucceed, my plan is to go and
fettle at Pitees, (the name of the town) that
I may be on the ipot, and I fhall there, from
fuperior advantages, be able to carry on a
" greater trade, than at Waflay ; befides the ad-
vantage of exporting the products of this e?
ftate. If I fhould ever be able to execute
thefe plans, my purchafe here will turn out
the luckieft event of my life ; and might foon
enable me to buy larger tracks of land upon
the lake ; for mofl: of the landlords live at
Stockholm, and would know nothing of fuch
a navigation being executed, any more than of
one in Iceland : for thefe tracks are all fo de-
fait, that very few of them yield any thing to
their owners. But by my transferring rny
bulinefs to Pitees, I fhould be on the fpot to
|3iake advantage of every event, as it happened;
and
76 TRAVELS THROUGH
and it would be doubly advantageous to me, as
I ihould be the exporter of my own products.
I afked him, if he did not apprehend, the
merchants would oppofe any navigation but
their own, as his timber would be brought to
rival theirs? He replied, they could not; for
the river is the boundary of the Ruffian and
Swedifhdominions,andis free by treaty; there-
fore the moft, that could be done, would be
the eftablifhment of a fmall toll. ThatPitees
was part Swedifh and part Ruffian, one part
of the town being in Caulia, and the other in
Nyland; which was found, in many circum-
ftances of trade, to be a prodigious advantage,
and was one reafon of the town flourifhing.
I could not comprehend clearly, how he made
this out, for he did not explain himfelf. But
it appeared evidently to me, that he has a very
fair chance of his purchafe proving a fortune
to him; and the plan he has laid for making the
beft of it, feems to be perfedly well confidered.
It is aftonifhing to reflet on the vaft impor-
tance of manufadlures and commerce on the
value of land: here are twelve thoufand acres,
moft of them covered thickly witJi the finefl
timber, bought for four ihillings an acre the
ieefimple; the foil rich and fertile; materials
for building of courfe, from the plen-
ty of wood in the greatefl profufion ; a fine
lake
SWEDE N, 77
lake, well ftored with quantities of fifh, and
the woods full of game : In a word, every ar-
ticle of provilions to be procured in the great-
eft plenty. But for want of manufactures and
trade, the value is nothing. What would not
fuch a track fell for in a well-peopled and in-
duftrious country ; in England, Holland, or
France ? This fufficiently (hews the great con-
fequence of population . I have heard it aiked
in England, when the decreafe of our numbers
has been the topic of difcourfe, of what
confequence is the matter of population ? It
is plain, we have men enough for our armies
and our navies; and our lands are cultivated ;
I have a thoufand pounds a year, which does
not fall to nine hundred, although our popu-
lation, it is faid, has fufFered. And I muft con-
fefs, that when I have heard fuch difcourles,
although T, by no means, approved their prin-
ciple, yet did I not clearly (ee the confequen-
ces. This country fupplies one with aa an-
fwer at once. The rental of a private gen-
tleman's eftate depends on the fum total of the
nations's population. If there are fcarcely any
inhabitants as in thefe provinces of Sweden, the
eftate will fell for four ihillings an acre, timber
andall; butif the country is full of inhabitants,
iikeEngland,itwillfellfor twenty pounds, and
the timber, perhaps, for two hundred more.
Betvveeii
7S TRAVELS THROUGH
Between fucli diftant extremes there will cer-
tainly be many degrees, and lome of them fb
near to each other, that it will be difficult to
lee their diftlndlions ; but fuch are evidently
in being, and muft ever be found in propor-
tion to the number of the people; if agriculture
could alone find mouths enough to eat up and
confume all the products, fhe raifes, then ma-
nufactures and commerce would not, in this
light, be necelTary ; but it is every where
known, that a territory compleatly cultivated,
will provide food, &c. for a greater number
of people, than are employed in the cultiva-
tion: hence arifes the dedudion, that manu-
factures and commerce are but other names
for full population, which can only be gained
by their means.
From this ifland of my friend Mr. Hirzel,
I was determined, what route I fliould take
to Peterfburgh: upon confideration, and after
making many enquiries, I refolved to go
through the province of Savolax to the capital
of it, the only town of any note in it, which
is Nyllot; and thence to Wyburg, in w.y way
to the Ruffian capital. The 17th, in the
morning, I took my leave of Mr. Hirzel and
his friend, and fet oll'for Pexama, a little town
at the diftance of feventy miles; which is all
through the forcd: it took mc two days; but
I met
SWEDEN. 79
I met with no houfes ; therefore all my refrefh-
meiit and reft was a meal taken on the grafs,
and a nap upon th^ fame pillow. I have
feen a Swedifh map, which places feven vil-
lages in this road; but I had now fufficient rea-
fon to pronounce it erroneous : the country
is all a rich foil, and covered, in moft places,
very thickly with fine timber : A country,
which would feed numerous inhabitants ;
and is all admirably watered; for I was more
than once, in fight of great lakes; but it is in
the moft deiblate condition, and yields not
any advantage to its pofleflbrs. From Pexama
to Nyflot is between fifty and fixty miles; all
the way on the banks of a very noble lake,
which, from its narrownefs and winding courle,
has exactly the appearance of a great river.
The country is all foreft ; but I faw two or
three villages; at one of wdiich I took up my
lodging : there were Ibme fmall farms, which
appeared to be tolerably cultivated; and I
found, that this lake, along which I had pafTed,
was navigable quite to the gulph of Finland;
and that the villages, I faw, were owing to
this circumftance; for the timber of the fo-
reft was conveyed thither to advantage; and
thecuttingandpreparingitfoundemployment
for the people.
Nyflot
Sd TRAVELS THROUGH
Nyflot is a little neat town , beautifully fitua-
ted in a nook of land, that runs into the lake,
with which it is chiefly furrounded. The
church is a new building and handfome; the
flreets are fome of them well paved and to-
lerably built; and there was an appearance of
wealth among the inhabitants, all of which,
I found, was owing to the timber trade :
for two or three miles round the town the
country is well cultivated, and fhews plainly,
what the reft of it is capable of, did it poflefs
the fame advantage of a market.
The 2 ift in the morning, I left Nyflot, and
took the road to Wyburg, which is at the dif-
tance of 60 miles: the lirft day carried me into
Caulia in the Ruflian territories, where I was
forced to hire a frefh fervant to ferve me as an
interpreter; but unfortunately, I could only
get a Ruflian, that underftood Swedifli, which
language I began to fpeak a little: fo I hired
him for the prefent ufe, till I got to Peterf-
burgh.
Upon entering the Ruflian territories, I was
convinced, that the intelligence, I had receiv-
ed at Waflfay, was true; that the Ruffians
tempted the Swedes to fettle in their provinr
ces, and at the fame time took all means of
increafmg the population of their dominions;
for 1 not only liuv and converfed with many
Swedes,
SWEDEN. Sj
Swedes, but the country was, upon the whole,
well peopled with Ruffians, far fuperior to
the Swedifh provinces in their befl diftrids,
that I have been in. All of it was cultivated,
tho* not highly, and every thing carried the
appearance of a thriving country, that had
nothing to complain of. I arrived at Wyburg
the 22d : it is a place of confiderable trade,
which has increafed greatly of late years, by
the encouragements, it has received from the
Ruffians. Vafl quantities of timber are ex-
ported from hence ; fo that the harbour,
which is a very good one, is feldom, while
the fea is open, without many fhips in it.
The provinces of Caulia and Kexholm fur-
nifh this timber, and great quantities come
from Savolax, through a part of Sweden; this
timber trade has increafed prodigioufly, fmce
the Ruffians cut a fine canal to open a com-
munication with the northern lakes, by
which means, trees are brought from the dif-
ilance of four hundred miles in rafts, and for
& great part of the way, five men are fufficient
to bring down ten thoufand rafts.
The 23d, Ifet out for Peterfburgh, which is
two days journey, the diflance about fixty
miles. The country, though fo near the ca-
pital of the Ruffian empire, is not all culti-
vated, which furprized me much; a great
Vol. Ill, G part
^2 TRAVELS THROUGH
part of it confifts of forefts, and there are
many marfhes -, but Hill it is much fuperior
to the Finland provinces of Sweden, better
inhabited and better cultivated. But here it
i: time to take my leave of Sweden ; hoW"
tver, I fhalladd fome general obfervations,!
made on the people of that kingdom.
CHAPTER III.
General Reflediiojis on the State of Sweden-^
Religion — Learning — The fine Arts — Man-
ner of Life — Government'-r^ Agriculture-^
Manufactures — Commerce — Wealth — Popu-
\fltion — Travelling.
TH E common idea of the Swedes,
which I have gathered from converfa-*
tion and reading, has been that of their be*
ing good foldiers, a6tive, brave, and hardy ;
but that few of them are ingenious, or have
abilities to make a figure in other arts orwalks
in life. This has been owing to the a6lions,
that were performed by Charles XII. which
were fuch proofs of their courage, that the
reft of Europe too foon believed, they were
capable of being famous in war alone. I
profefs myfelf clearly againft this idea, which
I arn confident, is ;^ very falfe one j they make
(rood
SWEDEN. ^3
good ioldlers, it is true, but they are capable
of making any thing elfe. I have attended
with as much affiduity, as I was able, and up-
on all the opportunities that I have had in my
power, which have been many, I think,
they feem to have as good parts, as any other
nation in Europe, and much fuperior to fome.
They are, by no means, dull of apprehenllon ;
are ready in their anfwers upon any fubje^l,
with which they are acquainted; have no-
thing of phlegm in their chara6ler : they nre
in general as chearful a nation, as I know, not
a noify buftling people, that are one moment
in grief, and the next laughing : they have
"not {o much vivacity as the French, but I
think, they have, upon the whole, as much
as the Englifh. They are, in general, a very
patient and an induftrious people, and capa-
ble, with proper encouragement from the go-
vernment, of making a great progrefs in the
arts and fciences, and in manufactures and
commerce; all which are very valuable qua-
lities, when they meet in a nation of fuch
acknowledged bravery.
RefpeCling religion, they are guided in a
great meafure by plain good fenfe ; though a
free country, they are not peftered with noiiy
fe6ts; neither are they at all violent in the
condud of the eflablifhed faith ; and, altho'
G 2. a ereat
84 TRAVELS THROUGH
a great part of the kingdom is very ignorant,
yet I faw fewer ligns of fuperftition, than in
any country I have been in, Holland and
England alone excepted.
Among the better fort of people, and the
higher ranks, there is a great deal of learning:
a good education in Sweden fits a man to
fhine in any country in Europe : in their
fchools, they learn Greek, Latin, French,
Englifh, and German; fo that there are very
few inftance of a young man's underftanding
the dead languages, and not at the fame time
being mafter of two or three very ufeful living
ones, which is much more, than can be faid
of our youth in England.
They have feveral univerfities, which are
provided with very able profeffors ; in thefe
feminaries, the favourite knowledge is natural
hiil'ory and the mathematicks ; and herein
they fhew their good fenfe as much, as any
nation in Europe ; for there are no other
parts of knowledge, that deferve fo much at-
tention, the reft being for ornament alone ;
but thefe are ufeful in every branch of life.
Many of their mathematicians are in general
efteem, as they are very rarely without feve-
ral, whofe works are known to all Europe. In
natural hiftory, they are unrivalled; but they
do not owe their fame in this branch
merely
SWEDEN. $s
merely to LInnseus, for before he was born 3
this ftudj was the favourite one in their uni-
verfities, and they have produced many men,
that gained them great reputation for their
works, but they have fince been eclipfed by
Linnaeus, and his numerous difciples.
I have been in many mixed companies in
Sweden, and I do not remember converling
with any gentleman, that had not a conlider-
able fliare of knowledge, and plainly fhewed
on moft topics, that he had had the advan-
tage of an excellent education.
They are mofi: deficient in the polite arts;
you look in vain for a painter, a poet, a ftatu-
-ary, or a mufician. If the Abbe du Bos's
fyftem is a juft one, this is the fault alone of
their climate ; but without attributing it to
phyfical caufes, we may find a reafon in the
moral ones. The fine arts never make a great
progrefs in any country, till it becomes im-
menfely rich, and very luxurious : the arts
are the children of luxury; without a great
flow of expence, running through every clals
of the people, we may pronounce, that a na-
tion is not rich enough for the fine arts to
fettle among them : the artifts, that excel,
mull: always be fare of fomething more, than
a competency, they mufl have affluence ; they
are generally men of warm imaginations, and
G 3 lovejs
S6 TRAVELS THROUGH
lovers of pleafurc. They muil: indulge their
inclinations, and not be crampt in poverty,
while they are attempting to produce works,
that fliall be tlie admiration of llicceeding
ages. Hence, all the famous ages, in which
the arts have arifen to a great degree of emi-
nence, from many v^ery famous men being
cotemporaries,, have univerfally been the
richeft and mofl luxurious ages in the world:
not that wealth alone is lufficient without
luxury. The Dutch are very wealthy, but
they are not a luxurious nation ; artifls would
flarve there in the midft of riches. Both
luxury and wealth abound in the kingdoms of
Afia, but then a defpotifm, exceflively fevere,
deftroys every nobler effort of the mind.
The Swedes have no poets : fome attempt
that fort of compolition, but it is always in La-
tin, and confequently of no merit : their
painters never rife higher, than very bad por-
trait ones : the fame fiifliion obtaining in Swe-
den as in England, where, till very lately,
we had nothing but portrait painters, becaufe
no others met with any encouragement.
You hear very good mufic at Stockholm, but
it is all by German muficians. This is not
therefore a kingdom, to which any perfon
would rcfgrt to be entertained by the fine
arts.
They
SWEDEN. 87
They have a theatre at Stockholm, oa
which, duringapartof the year, French come-
dies are reprefented, fometimes concerts, and
oratorios, but the times of a6ling are very ir-
regular, not meeting always with encourage-
ment enough to keep it open, even in the vi^in-
ter ; fo that it has been known to be fliut
up for two years together. Another thing,
which takes much from the gaiety of this
capital, is, the court not being at all brilliant;
which is owing, in Ibme meafure,to the fmall-
nefs of the royal revenue, and to the prefent
flate of parties, which occalions many of the
principal nobility to abfent themfelves.
The manners of all ranks of people in
Sweden are very agreeable ; the fuperior
claffes have an eafy natural politenefs, which
prejudices you in their favour at firft acquain-
tance. They have not a fwift, or formal, nor
pert or foppifh, but a plain eafy carriage and
manner, which is the refult of good fenfe and
humanity. Their converfation is agreeable;
and they pay great attention of foreigners,
without troubling them with national cufloms
and ceremonies. Duels are not common at
Stockholm; yet the men have very jufl ideas
of their honour, and as unwilling to put up
with affronts, as more tenacious and auarrel-
&me nations.
C 4 The
88 TRAVELS THROUGH
The principal expences, into which they
run, are thofe of the tahle, drefs, and equi-
page. People of large fortune keep prodi-
gious tables, which are ferved with all the
magificence, that is found in France and
England, and the variety of their wines have
no end. In drefs, alfo, they appear prodigal;
•and their equipages, from their number, are
expenlive, but not executed in the fhewy
taite of Paris. Plowever, thefe articles of
luxury, in their greateft degree, are confined
ro a few families, whofe wealth is very con-
liderable; for, in general, the nobility are not
rich : there are many private eflates in Ger-
manv, that much exceed any in Sweden.
The way of dividing the refidence of win-
ter and fummer, as pra6lifed in England, takes
place here, only in part; many of the nobili-
ty and richeft of the gentry, live entirely at
Stockholm, icarcely ever feeing their eftates;
others live entirely in the country, never fee-
ing the capital, at leafl, but very feldom :
fome, however, have houles at Stockholm for
the v/inter feafon, but live in fummer on
their eftates, having very good lioufes, which
they ornament with gardens and plantations.
As to the prefent flate of the government
of Sweden, I could enter in a pretty long
detail of fome chanp;es and other circumfl:an-
ces.
S W EDEN. S9
Ces, that have attended it lately, but as great
fart of my information is drawn from people^
that are deeply concerned, I do not chule to
fay much upon the fubje£t. But I fhall ob-
ferve, that the government is a plain repub-
lick, the king, being no more than the firfl
magiflrate, with very little power, not fo muck
as a {lad th older of Holland in feveral elTential
articles. There are convuliions in the admi-
niftration of affairs, v*^hich threaten a total
change; for here is an apparent contradi<3:ion,
which is, a king and the people on one iide,
and the nobility on the other; moft of the im-
portant authority is in. the hands of the latter,
who are in fa6l the legiflature of the kingdom;
but difputes, parties and diflentions are growTi
to an amazing height, and bid fair for com-
ing to open arms; at all events, {bme great re-
volution may be looked for ; and the event
may eafily be conjedured, while the people,
united under a leader of the firft rank in the
kingdom w4th ibme prerogative, are on
one hand, and the nobility on the other;
a difpute, in fuch a fituation, cannot fail of be*-
ing fatal to the latter. Indeed, I never knew
affairs in any country in a fituation, that pro-
mifed fo fairly, for bringing in an abiblute
fway, in the fame manner, as it was introduced
in Denmark; many moderate men in Sweden
lament
90 TRAVELS THROUGH
lament the diffentions, which do fo much mifl
chief to the kingdom, and affert, that if they
had a defigning prince on the throne, it would
be very eafy for him to feize as great a power,
as ever Charles XII. enjoyed.
At the fame time, that they are of this opi-
nion, they make no fcruple to declare, the
change would be for the advantage of the
kingdom, and that no government, regular in
Its operations, can be fo bad, as the prefent ir-
regular fcene of anarchy and fadlion. But
herein, they certainly carry their ideas to a ve-
ry dangerous length, notwithftanding many
and great errors of government, and fome op-
preffions among the peafants ; yet I am clear,
that the countrymen, throughout the king-
dom, enjoy a great degree of liberty, and are
left in quiet pofleffion of their property ; their
taxes are, in fome inflances, very unequal; they
are kept at much dlftance by the nobility, and
have none of that licentioufnefs allowed them,
which is fuch a dilgrace to England : But,
notwithftanding all thefe circumll:ances,Iwill
venture to pronounce them, beyond all com-
parifon, a happier people in every refpc6t,
than they would be, were their government
abfokitc. Let thofe, who have travelled
tlirough France and Sweden, form an idea of
the ftate of the peafants in both, and they will
not
SWEDEN. 91
not for a moment hefitate at agreeing to this
truth.
By lodging with the peafants in fb manj
journeys, through the remote provinces of the
kingdom, I had the opportunity of examining
very minutely into their condition, and I re-
marked them, in general, to be a very con-
tented happy people ; there are few cottages m
Sweden, that have not lands annexed to them,
by which means they raife many produ^ls,
which are of infinite ufe to them in keeping
themfelves and families. England, it will
certainly be allowed, is as free a country, as
any man can wilh ; and yet our labourers have
very feldom more, than a fmall fpot for a gar-
den, which is too inconflderable to be of
much fervice to them ; nor are the Englifh
iiearfo well fatisiied with their lot, as the Swe-
dilh peafants ; they are not fo tightly drefled,
their cottages are not near fo good, and their
poverty in general, is much more apparent;
all which I attribute to the circumflance of
the Swedes, having thofe fmall farms with
herds of cattle on the wafle, which are of in-
finitely more value to them, than all the a-
mount of thofe taxes, which they pay, and
from which their brethren in England are
not only exempted, but have alfo the advan-
tage of rates, publicly raifed for their affifl-
ance ;
^« TRAVELS THkOtJGH
ance ; of which there is nothing of the kind
in Sweden : I know not three peafants in
that kingdom, that have not a farm of twenty
or thirty acres of land at leaft, and feveral
herd of cattle. Here indeed, I fhould give an
explanation, for if this was the cafe in Eng-
land, we (hould have no fuch thing as a la-
bourer to be hired ; all would attend merely
to their lands; but in Sweden there is no in-
convenience in this, for the peafants, who
work regularly in the woods for hire, have the
fame; but their wives and daughters manage
their farms, fo that the men are not taken
from theirufual labour, three days out of forty.
This is a mofl: admirable cuftom for them-
felves, as well as the kingdom, and makes
the population of a kingdom, wherever it is
pra£lifed, of far more account, than at firft it
appears. It would be in vain to attempt in-
troducing this cuftom into England, for the
great degree of idlenefs, in which the cottage-
woman live with us, would be an unfurmount-
able obftacle.
NotwithflandingI have, in different parts of
my journal, minuted the remarks, I made on
the prefent ftate of agriculture in the provin-
ces, I pafled through ; I mufl: here repeat, that
the Swedes are univerfally good hufband-
men ; 1 faw no lands, laid out and cultivated,
in
SWEDEN. 93
in fuch good order, in any part of Germany,
^ud the Danes are alfo far behind them ; the
pea-fants and farmers in Sweden, who cultivate
enly for a fubfiftance, keep their lands in
good order, and raife fuch crops, that their
^elds would be no difgrace to a middling cuL
tivated part of England ; while their farmers
^s have good markets in view, would figure
in the finefl counties of this kingdom. Their
crQp§ of corn I obferved, were in general good
and clean, that they keep large ftocks of cat-
tle, and provide plenty of food for them to
fubfift on in winter. If it is confidered, what
a vaft quantity of wafte land is found through-
out the kingdom, moft of which, almoft any
body, that will, may take under the payment
of a very trifling rent ; this good hufbandry
will appear the more extraordinary, as thejf
having fo much land in their power, 1%
might be expelled, would make them {lo-*
yens, yet the contrary is the cafe, for they
take no more, than they can manage well,
and by that means, I apprehend, find their
hufbandry more profitable, than it would
otherv/ife be.
The reader rnay have remaked, that I have
almoft every where mentioned, wheat being
cultivated by them; this, I think, is a very^
^xtraprdinary iiiftance pf docility and good
fenfe ;
94 TRAVELS THROUGH
{tnfa ; a few years ago, that grain was culti-
vated only in a few of the fouthern provinces,
and on foils, picked up with much care for it;
but when the prohibition on the exportation
irom Englifh put the Swedifh government
ftrongly on promoting the culture at home,
the farmers, throughout the kingdom, readily
came into the plan, and fowed fo much, every
year, increafing the quantity regularly, from
that time to this, that, at prefent, it is ipread
all over the kingdom ; fuch an inftance, I
dare to fay, is not, in any article of culture, to
be met with in England ; and from this in-
ftance, it is very evident, that the common
ideas of difficulties, in the introduction of no-
velties, are many of them very falfe ; for if
any perfon had ventured to propofe the cul-
ture of wheat in Sweden, fifty years ago, at
leafl, in many of the provinces, where we
now find it, he would have been thought
mad ; but none of thefe things can be well
known, till a full and fufficient trial is made
of them. The Swedes are now fo well in-
formed, by experience, in the culture of wheat,
that fome judicious and fpirltcd laws would,
I doubt not, enable them to raife quantities
enough, for a confiderable exportation, fo as
to enable them to come in with the Poles for
a (hare of a fupply for the Dutch, and the
more
SWEDEN. ^5
more fouthern nations of Europe: fome boun-
ties, properly applied, would efFe£l this : not
bounties, as in England, on the exportation,
but to all thofe farmers, who cultivated, given
quantities of wheat, in a fecond round of years,
on lands, taken from the wafte; for the great
obje£l is, the encreafing the quantity of cul-
tivated land, by improving the wild tracks,
and, at the fame time, applying them to raif-
ing a valuable fort of corn, that is fure to
pay well for exportation. B3^ making the
grand objed, the railing the corn, inftead of
the exportation of it, the home confump-
tion would always have the refufal at the
market, which is not always the cafe in Eng-
land. Laws Ihould likewife be made to en-
able any peafant, farmer, or other, to take in
as much of the wafte, which joins his farm,
as he pleafes, without paying any rent for
twenty years, and afterwards, only a moderate
one for the life of the improver : this would
be a wonderful encouragement to all the inha-
bitants of the country, and would certainly,
in a few years, bring great quantities of wheat
to market, till the home confumption not
taking the whole, a regular and profitable ex-
portation, would, of courfe, be eftablifhed.
For bringing about fuch great works as thefe,
nothing is wanted, but to bring affairs into
fuch
^6 TRAVELS THROUGH
fuch a train, that private people, hy pufliing
their own interefls, mufl, at the fame time,
advance thofe of their country; for if ever
there is a diflindtion made, nothing can arife
from it, but evil upon evil. Encouragement
fliould alfo be given to the draining bogs and
Hiarihes, which in Sweden, are univerfally the
richefl tracks to be met with, but this is a
work beyond the power of mofl cultivators,
without the affiftance of the government;
nothing would efFe£t it, but a premium of lb
much per acre, large enough to go far to-
wards the whole expence ; and if fuch pre-
miums of whatever kind, amounted to a con-
iiderabie expence, it fliould be raifcd by frefh
taxes, or an increafe of the old ones, over the
whole kingdom ; for the benefit, purchafed,
would be of importance to the whole, and
therefore the whole ought to contribute.
Nothing wants a wife regulation more, than
the woods in this kingdom ; for the wafte,
that is made in cutting them, both of timber
;ind land,- is extravagantly great. The atten-
tion, which M. de Verfpot has given to this
article, fhews what fhou Id be done, and the
manner alfo, in which the undertaking fhould
be profecuted. No profitable woods ougbt
to be deftroyed, unlefs the land is converted
immediately to hufbandry ulcs. That noble-
man's
SWEDEN. 97
Sn'^n's excellent method of thinning his
woods is certainly the rational conduct, and
©ught to be inforced over the whole king-
dom.
There is no couritrj, in which inland ha-
vigations would be attended with better con-
fequences ; for all their produfts are very
bulky, and mufl: have water-carriage, or
they cannot be got to market. Many of the
rivers, of Sweden are navigable; but there
are many tracks, covered with the fineft
woods, which yield fcarcely any produdl, for
want of water-carriage, at the fame time, that
confiderable rivers run through them, which
might, at a very fmall expence, be made na-
vigable, only by removing local obftructions,
and not by a general deepening or widening.
Few countries are better fupplied with
harbours, many of which are extremely Ipa-
cious and fafe ; and the number is fo confi-
derable, that their trade will never ftand flili
for want of them, in any part of the king-
dom.
Relative to the Swedifli manufactures, I
ihall, in general, remark, that from what I
viewed mylelf, and had intelligence of from
others, they are not confiderable. Some of
the nobility fay, that they have carried their
point, in making the Swedes cioath them-
VoL. III. H lelves
58 TRAVELS THROUGH
Selves- with cloth and linen of their own fa-*
iarick ; but this is a very great exaggeration.
The peafants are univerfaiJy cloathed with a
eoarfe woollen cloth, that is made at home^
and fome other of the lower ranks of th&
people. There are alfo fome gentlemen and
nobles, who, thro* patriotifm, wear Swedifh
cloth, that is pretty fine, but that is, by no
means^ general, and the cloth is much dearer,
than much finer Ibrts from England and
France. Thefe manufa6tories, which they
have been able to ere(^, are not fo conlider-
able, as this account may feem at firft to in-
dicate; for it fhould be remembered, that
the peafants were always, nine parts in ten,
cloathed in the fame array as now, which is
not with. manufactory cloth, but with that,
which is fpun, and wove in their own houfes
by their women ; fo that the new eftablifh-
ments are not very con fide rable ; it is true, they
increafe, and, if good attention is given to
encourage and protecfl them, they will, in
ibme years, grow to be of very great cbnle-
quence to- Sweden, and not only entirely
fupply their own eonfumption with all, ex-
cept the fine French cloths, but alio furnifh
coarfe ones enough for exportation, in ex-
rliange for the liner Ibrts ; and this will be
pulhing the advantage, as far as ever they can
look
SWEDEN. ^9
look for; but in the prefent ftate of things,
they are far diftant from this point, and, un*
lefs the animolities, which dlflracl the go^
vernment, are fo entirely laid a{ide,as to make
all parties join in one work, and attend to
that alone, viz. the good of the kingdom ^
there is no hope of their attaining to that
defirable flate.
They have fome linen fabricks, in which
ate wrought very good forts, both of hemp
^nd flax ; but they are not near confiderable
enough to fupply their home confumption*
Of glafs and paper they import very little*
Hardware is a confiderable article among
them, not in the ftile of our Birmingham
manufactures, but principally in the founder^
way : they caft great numbers of cannon,
which they export to all Europe ; alfo bells
in great number, and many other articles.
Indeed, they are unrivalled in their iron and
copper mines, v/hich are far more confider-
able, than thofe of any other country in Eu-
tope ; fb that they apply copper to mofl of
the purpofes, that we do lead in England,
fuch as coverings to their churches, public
buildings, and great private edifices, &c.
Commerce flourlflies more in Sweden, thau
it did fome years ago: to what this is owing,
I could not difcover ; for their products are
tiot greater, in proportion, to the iiicreafe of
H 2, their
ic5b T R A Y E L S THROUGH
their {hipping; and though feveral very ju-
dicious laws have been made for its encou-
ragement, yet I fhould not have luppofed, the
efFedt would have been anlwerable, to what
appears, unlefs other reafbns had confpired at
the fame tinie. However, the fa6l is, that
iheir fhipping is much increafed, their ihips
they build of a greater buithen, and they
engage in more trading voyages, than for-
merly. This is a point of very great impor-
tance ; for, if they are able to export the
principal part of their iron, timber, pitch,
tar, hemp, and copper,in their own bottoms,
it will add more, than any thing elie, to the
wealth of the kingdom; at the fame time,
that their naval force will beincreafed greatly,
which is the beft and moft ufeful force, they
can clierifh. Increaiing their {hipping is im-
proving and accelerating the markets for all
their products, and cannot but increafe them
in a very high degree. The building and
fitting out the {hips is the moll advantageous
manufacture in the kingdom, and that, v.hich
more than any other, brings wealth into the
country. The branches of commerce, which
they have more particularly increafed of late
years, are the Eafl-India trade, the trade to
Portugal, Spain, and the Mediterranean ;
that of England, Holland, and France, is not
improved. Some perfons are in doubt about
the
SWEDEN, i(%i
the German branch of their commerce, but,
I believe, that is rather greater, than it was.
The general efFeds, which flow from aii
improving agriculture and increafmg manu-
fa(9:ures and commerce, are a greater degree
of national wealth, more of the precious
metals, and an increafing population. From
the beft intelligence I could get, the kingr,
■dom, I believe, is more wealthy, than it was
twenty years ago. It contains more money,
and is upon the increase in that article ; but
as to population, it has made no progrefs, and
many perfons affirm, that there is a decline in
it. How far this is conliftent with the irrb-
:provement in the other particulars, I fhall not
"determine; but I may remark, that in general
thofe circumftances are attended by an in-
cCreaJing people. What caufes fhould have
wrought contrary effedls in Sweden, I am not
-able to afcertain ; but, as the people are
often numbered, (though not accurately, rior
all the clafles) the fadl is pFetty- well Con-
*^firmed. It lliould make one doubt the ex-
tent of thofe improvements; for I muft own,
"I have little idea of agriculture, manufac-
tures, and commci-ce improving, without
population, increaiiug exactly in the fame pro-
portion ; for an increafing people can only
be owing to the inhabitants, finding an eafeijli
maintaining themfelves, and their famiHes tu>
H 3 burthen,
162 TRAVELS THROUGH, &c.
burthen, which is effecled by a great plenty
of employment; and improving agriculture,
manufactures, and commerce, is increafing
■employment, and conlequently the people. "
Travelling in Sweden, unlefs upon the fyf-
tem, which I followed, is a very uneafy affair;
in the moment, you get out of the few great
roads there are, which do not lead through a
fifth of the kingdom, you will meet with dif-
ficulties; but in the great roads, if you have
your own carriage, the poll-horfes, boys, and
accommodations, have nothing objedlible in
them, and you are fure of meeting with great
civility in all the inns, and from every perlon,
-with whom you have the leafl connexion
on the rqad. But, when you leave thefe great
roads, then the flage, in diftance from inn to
inn, is very great, and the accommodation,
though with much civility, very indifferent.
If your bed is carried with you, and you cau
vide the whole journey, every peafant's houfe
is open to you with the utmoft hofpltality ;
and they will, for very trifling rewards, do
whatever is in their power to ferve you.
Without precautions, the diet will be very
indifferent; but they will get you fifli, wild
.fowl, and venifqn, excellent of the kind, with
which you may load a horfe from place to
place, while it keeps. And this will remedy
every in convenience. Wine is eafily carried.
Trave h
Travels through Ruffia.
n
[ 105 3
CHAP. IV.
Defer iption of Peterfburg — General Accounts
of the Empire of Rufjia — The Emprefs — -
Government — Manuf azures — Trade — Army
^^Navy — Prefent State.
I Arrived at Peterlburgh, the evening of the
24th, and, as T defigned making fome flay
in the city, determined to hire private lodg-
ings; for I had been informed, that the public
inns were not only very extravagant, but alfo
very bad, which, indeed, is the cafe in all ca-
pitals, for, where the people of quality do
not go, (having houfes of their own) one is
always fure of meeting with very indif-
ferent treatment. I hired a firft floor, confifl-
ing, after the Ruflian faflilon, of two dining-
rooms, a drawing-room, dreffing-room, and
bed-chamber, befides fervants' apartments^
for three guineas a week ; fuch a fuit of rooms
at London, it would be very difficult to have
at twelve. Peteriburg is built on feveral
iflands, which were once nothing more, than
marfliy fpots of mud, over- run with reeds :
but the immortal Peter, whofe undertakings,
in every thing, carried a magnificence of idea
in them, that can never be fufficiently admired,
converted a miferabk bog into a fine city.
And
io6 TRAVELS THROUGH
And here, I cannot avoid anfwering the re-
flections of feveral writers againfl that immor-
tal monarch, for facrificing more than half a
million of men in founding this city. The
Czar's object wasto become anEuropean power,
which, without a port on the Baltic, he could
not, but he might as well have pretended to be
an Americanone. His vafi dominions, though
4:ontiguous to Poland, and themfelves a part
of Europe, were, at fuch a diftance from the
European theatre, and in fo barbarous a ftate,
that nothing, but opening himfelf a way to the
Baltic, could poffibly bring his grand plan to
bear. By founding this city, and making it
the capital of his empire, and a iea-port, fit to
receive the naval force, he declined to a£t on
that fea, he anfwered all his purpofes at one
flroke; and, confequently, could fcarcely pay
too dearly for the propofed advantage. As to
the lofsoffuch numbers of lives, the fault
.certainly was not fo much owing to the
fteadinefs of the Czar's adhering to his plan,
as not taking proper care of the men, while
thev were at the work; fmce every one mull
be very fenfiblc, that works, to the full as
great, as any he executed, could now be per-
formed in England, under fimiiar circum-
fiances, comparatively fpcaking, without the
lofs of a n^an;. But the conlcqucnccs, which ,
wc
It u s s I a; 107
^e all know, have flowed from the founding
this city, have been of fuch infinite impor-
tance to the Ruffian empire, that no expenee,
that could ever have been incurred, would have
been too great for gaining fuch fignal be?
nefits. Peterlburg is the foul of commerce
in all thefe Northern parts ; it is the founda-
tion, on which all the Ruffian naval force has
been ere£led; and the port, on which their
iiurfery of failors moft depends. At the fame
tirne, that thefe capital circumftances attend
it, muil: be acknowledged, that it is very de-
ficient, as a receptacle of the men of war of a
great empire ; for the depth of water, the frefh-
-nefs of it, the docks, yards, every thing at Pe-
terfburg, are againft the ule of it for that pur-
pofe. The yards are at Peterlburg, but the
depth of water is fo inconfiderable, that no-
thing can be put aboard the firft-rate men of
war, before they are conveyed to Cronflot,
which is not eafily done neither. Once, this
work was effe£led by means of mojft expen*
five machines, but now, they come v^^ithout
that difficulty, by means of the new canal,
which is not however fo complete, but that
infinite attention is neceflarj for conducting
them. It i§ not only men of war, however,
that are bujlt in thefe yards : galleys * are
much
f Count AI garo^^I J- mention W the naval power of the
RuiHans,
10? TRAVELS THROUGH
^luch in ufe for the Baltick; but, as this em-
pire has experienced of late great changes, in
the
Ruffians, obferves, " Galleys are here the proper things.
Be there never fo littje water, there is always enough for
them. They glide between the little iflands and the
rocks ; they can land any where. The Czar was fsn-
fible of it at laft, and fent for galley-builders from Ve-
nice. I met with one of them greatly advanced in years,
and was not a little furprifed to hear terminations in ao in
fixty degrees of latitude! The galleys, that one fees here,
are of different fizes ; there are fmall ones, which carry
2bo\^t one hundred and thirty men, and others much
larger. They are all armed with two pieces of cannon
en the prow, and furnifhed with chace-guns and fwivels
en the fides. The Czar gave to each of them the name
of a Ruflian fifh. Now they are numbered, as the legions
were; there are upwards of one hundred and thirty of
them, and they are to be much more numerous. By this
means, an army of thirty thoufand men Is tranfported with
great eafe. Rowing is to the Ruffian foldiers, what the
exercife of fwimming was to the Romans. Every foot- fol-
dler learns to handle the oar 4t the fame time as the mullcct,
by which means, without maritime commerce, and with-
out embargoes, the Ruffians have always crews ready for
their galleys. They caft anchor every night, and land,
whei'e it is leaft cxpcxEled. Wh«n difembarkcd, they
draw them up upon the land, range them in a circle,
with their prows and artillery pointed oufward, and thus
they have in a trice a fortified camp. They leave five or
fix battallions to guard it, and with the reft of their troops
over-run the country, and lay it under contribution.
The expedition ended, they re-embark, and begin agaip
in another quarter. Sometimes they tranfport their vcilcls
from one water to another over a flip of land, as was
praitifed by the antients^ on fcveral pcafions, and p.lrti-
culurly
RUSSIA; 109
the fjftem of- politics, the ufe of galleys varj.
.In a war, on the coafl of the Baltic, they are
increafed in number; but, when a peace
Gomes, they are negleded, and not kept up,
in the manner they ought to be. During
the late war, they might have annoyed the
Pruffian dominions, infinitely more than they
did ; but the great army was the only thing-
attended to.
Peterfburg is amazingly increafed in fize
within thefe forty years: At the death of
Peter the Great, it did not contain eighty
thouland
cularly after the example of Mahomet II. at the feige of
Conftantinople.
. *'.The Swedes can teftify, whether thefe Ruffian galleys
are formidable. They have feen them ravage their rich
mines of Norkopping, the whole coafts of Gothland and
Sudermania, and fhew themfelves, even before Stock-
holm/' He alfo adds another circumftance, which is
worthy of note, concerning the timber ufed for fhip-
building here. " Of what wood do you think the
fhips are built at Peterfburg? It is a fpecies of oak, which
is at leaft two fummers upon the road, before it arrives. It
comes ready cut by the carpenter from the kingdom of
Cafan. It goes a little way up the Wolga, then the
Tuertza, , paffes through a canal into the fea, from thence
into the Mefta, and, by means of the Volcova, falls into a
canal, which conveys it into the lake Ladoga, from
thence it defcends at laft by the Neva to Peterfburg. I
faw in this port a floop, built at Cafan, from whence it
came by the rivers, I have juft mentioned, which join the
Cafpian fea to the Baltiek, and are a quite different thing
from the famous canal of Languedoc,"
rid TRAVELS THROUGH
thoufand inhabitants, and now the Ruffian S
aflert, that there are five hundred thoufand ;
but this is an exaggeration. It covers a very
great extent of land and water ; the ftreets
are fome of them very broad, long, and with
canals in the middle of them ; and others are
planted in the Dutch fafliion; which, I before
obferved, is a wretched plan ; the houfes are
immenfely large: the palaces of the nobility,
I think, exceed in fize thofe of any city, I have
feen ; and that of the Emprefs is an amazing
flrudlure : but let me remark, that they are
rather great, than beautiful : the fize is all,
that ftrikes you : and thefe prodigious piles
are ftuck. fo thick wnth ornaments, that there
is hardly any fuch thing, as judging of their
proportions: the Italian architedlure is mixed
with the Dutch, and the whole forms very
inelegant buildings, in which true tafte is to-
tally facrlficed to a profufion of ornament.
But if the eye does not fcrutinize into the fe-
parate parts of the buildings, but takes only
the ftreets at large, the city may be fairly
pronounced a very fine one.
The Czar himfelf fparcd no pains in ren-
dering it as ftrong as pofllble ; for being at the
very extremity of his dominions, clofe to his
enemies the Swedes, and open to the attacks,
which were poiHble taarife from his European
connc6lions,
R U S S I A; tii
conne6b'ions, he made a point of having it
impregnable ; but herein he certainly failed.
There are many forts, and whole (hores con-
verted into platforms, and lined from end to
end with great guns. Thefe works begin at
Cronflot, which is made very flrong, and
they laft to the city. There is a citadel, regu-
larly built, and capable, not only of prote£ling
the city on one lide, but alfo of itfelf landing
a fiege. Yet there are many feamen, who af-
fert, that a fleet of fhips well manned and con-
ducted, and provided with a proper number
of firefhips, and bomb-ketches, would, with-
out any great difficulty, lay all Peterfburg in
aflies. I muft own myfelf of a very different
opinion, for here is always a very confiderable
fleet of men of war, from 60 to 100 guns,
with numerous failors, that could man them
on a very (hort notice; thefe (hips, properly
difpofed by way of batteries, would render
fuch an attempt impracticable, even if the
fortifications are granted to be deficient,
which is more, than will be allowed by many
officers, well Ikilled in this part of their art.
Among the public buildings, there are
many, extremely worthy the attention of a tra-
veller, particularly the dock yards and naval
magazuies, the arfenal^ foundery, admiralty,
&;c. without infifling on the imperial palace,
the
112 TRAVELS TH^ROtTGH
the cathedral, or many churches. In the
docks, they have a great number of carpenters
continually at work, among whom are many
EngHfh, difchargcd by the government, on
the conclufion of the peace in 176:?, they
meet with great encouragement here, and are
much better employed, than if in the fervice
of France or Spain. They build here all forts
of veffels, from fhips of one hundred and
twenty guns, (and fome, much larger have
been known) down to boats, and the number,
always on the ftocks at a time, is conliderable.
After the death of Peter the Great, the marine
was negleded, infomuch, that the Emprefs's
naval ftrength was not computed to be a fifth
part of what, that great monarch pofrefl'ed,and
this was owing to a want of trade, which
can alone make feamen; unlefs, when in the
hands of fuch a man as Peter, who created
every thing: But the prefent Emprefs, who
has thrown the fpirit of that great monarch
into all the departments of the ftate, has re-
vived it wonderfully, fo that at prefent the
Ruffians have a formidable navy, and, in a
few years, will have a yet more conliderabla
one.
: There is fcarcely any thing at Peterfburg*
more del'erving notice, than the foundery i
The iron is brought from Kexholm by water,
and
R U S S 'I K $i|
and the number of cannon and mortars, that
are call here, is very great j alfo cannon balls^
fhells,and ail forts of mfiitary implements, in
which iron is ufed; which are made here at as
fmall an expence, as in Sweden, or any other
part of the world. The arfenal is always well
ftored with them j and there are vaft quantities,
made on a private account for exportation,
forming a very confiderable branch of com-
merce*
The trade of Peterjfburgis much more con-
fiderable, than that of any other town in the
Ruffian empire 5 and would figure, on compa-
rifon, with many very great marts in other
parts of Europe; bat unfortunately, that vaft
commerce is, nine-tenths of it, carried on in
foreign bottoms. The Dutch alone load an-
nually here with timber, iron, and all forts
of naval ftores, a great many fliips, and the
Englhli many more.
The commodities, thefe nations carry from
Peterfburg, are tar, bees wax, pitch, hemp,
flax, leather, fkins, furs, pot-aflies, timber,
plank, iron, yarn, linen, lintfeed, &c. and
thefe in fuch quantities, that the very balance
of trade, between Great-Britain and Ruffia,
has been reckoned at four hundred thoufand
pounds a year, againfl the former , the a-
mount of the total commerce may theref:)re
be eafily conceived. The royal navy of Eng-
VoL. III. I ' laud
ti4 TRAVELS THROUGH
land is almofl: totally fupplied with hemp from
Peterfl^urg, alfo with great quantities of iron,
and other naval (lores, and all the fnipping in
England Jikewife; and this importation has
increafed very much, fmce the Swedes laid a
prohibition on our manufadures, fo that the
importation, from that country, was reduced
to the few articles, which neceffity obliged us
to have from thence ; and all the reft very
politically tranferred to Ruffia.
The great amount of the commerce, be-
tween us and this empire, has been the occa-
fion of very many political differtations and
treatifes, proving the neceffity of encouraging
theprodudion of all the commodities, we im-
port from Ruffia, in our colonies ; and I
think, our politicians have not, in any inftance,
had better grounds for their opinions, or fup-
ported their proportions with more unanfwer-
able arguments. A trading nation fhould ne-
ver regret parting with its money, when {he
thereby adds to her induftry j but, in this cafe,
we pay three or four hundred thoufand
pounds a year to Ruffia for thofe commodi-
ties, which our own colonies would produce;
and the difference is, that now we pay in
cafli, but to our colonies, we fhould pay in
manufadlures : confequently, for want of
this meafure, being effected, we lofe the em-
ployment
RUSSIA. 115
ployment of fo many of our poor, as could
earn the whole amount of that fum -, and
wealfo lofc the general profit, refulting to the
nation at large, by their earning fach a fum
of money'; for any increafe of our national
income, f aifed by an increafe of induftry, is
beneficial to us, in a much greaterdegree, than
the mere amount of it* To illuftrate this, let
us confider the advantage to Ruffia,of pur pay-
ing her a balance of three or four hundred
thoufand pounds. That balance is paid to a
certain number of merchants and dealers at
Peteifburg and other ports -, they pay it to a
fet of landlords, miners, hufbandmen, and
manufacturers. Thefe again pay it to all
the manufa6lurers, tradefmen, &cc. with
whom they deal ;- and thefe to a frefh fet.
Now every art, trade, bufinefs, and profef-
fion, in the whole empire, come in for an ad-
ditional incomf*, from this fum^ circulating
through the mafs of induftry; and every one
of them are elTentially the richer. If this
circulation could be traced, it would probably
be found, that three hundred thoufand pounds
a year, gained in the precious metal, were
equal, in general by improvement, to the va-
lue of nine or twelve hundred thoufand
pounds a year. Becaufe, no one canbefappo-
fed to have an increafe of income in Ruffia,
I 2 any
n6 TRAVELS THROUGH
any more than any where elfe, without in-
creafing his expences proportionably ^ that is,
he buys more food, more cloth, more flioes,
employs more builders, and, in a word,
more artifls of all forts. None of :which can
increafe, without reciprocal benefits, flowing
back again ; and the government, from the
whole circulation in every flep it takes, feizes
a part, by means of taxes. This is but a
flight fketch of the effects of an increafing
wealthy to explain it fully, would take a much
greater compafs.
The greatefl trade at Peterfburg is carried
on by the Englifh ; next in rank, come the
Dutch ^ as to the French, they deal here, as
little as pofTible^^ for the two crowns are very
far from being on a good footings the French
and the Swedes being in clofe alliance, they
therefore trade to Sweden for all thofe com-
modities, which England gets from Ruffia,
fome few excepted, which are not to be had
at' that market. Notwithftanding this, they
confume large quantities of French commo-
dities in Ruffia, but thefe come to them,
principally through the hands of the Dutch.
The building this capital has had a very
great effect in improving large tracks of land
in the furrounding provinces : The corn and
other provifions, which are brought hi-
ther.
RUSSIA. yij
ther, and the variety of merchandize, that is
exported from hence, employ fome of the
moft confiderabie inland navigations in the
world. The Neva, the great lakes of Lagoda
and Onega j the Tuerka, the Mefla, the Vol-
cova, and the Wolga, all thefe rivers, with
many others, tho' fome of them are at a great
diftance, keep open a communication between
Peter/burg and thofe noble tracks of country
upon the Cafpian and Euxine feas : but it may
be fuppofed, that the greateft advantages are
made by the people, who have not fuch a
diftance to go j fo that the produ6ls of all
the neighbouring provinces are infinitely grea-
ter, than thofe of others more diftant.
I have heard, fome Ruffians affirm, that
all this feeming increafe of culture, of manu-
fa6lures, and of commerce, is imaginary;
that it is all owing to the fovereign's fixing the
feat of government here, vv^hich has not raifed
a new population, but drawn an old one from
other provinces. Molcow was once the me-
tropolis, and the feat of government, &c. and
Novogorod, the great ftaple of trade ; but
Peterfburg now is both ; and has half depo-
pulated thofe cities, as well as Archangel,
which was once a place of very great trade.
In anfwer to this, I allow, that part of the af-
fertion is true ; that much of the population
I 3 of
n8 TRAVELS THROUGH
of this city, and its neighbourhood, is owing
to a defertion of other places ; but, at the fame
time, I muftinfift,that a new population mufl
have been created by means of this city, be-
caufe a new induftry has fprang up, new
trades opened, new manufa6lures eftabliihed,
and innumerable artifls employed, which were
not in being before; and many of which could
not have been in being, had not this city
been founded. There is no doubt, but the
Ruffian commodities found, in fmall quanti-
ties, their way into Europe, before Peter the
Great's time 3 but every one muft be fenfible
of the comparative fmallnefs of the quantity,
when they had not an European port, and
when all their produ6ls,in order to get to the
Baltick, were forced to fubmit to a long land
carriage through an enemy's country, and
fubjecl to whatever duties, that enemy chofe
to lay on them. Theprefent method of carry-
ing on their trade, manufactures andprodu6ls
has, I think, every advantage over the former;
and if this is allowed, it follows of courfe,
that population is proportionably increafed,
and wealth moft certainly; both which have
a direct effect in raifing the value of land,
for a great dift-^-nce around the capital.
But the building of the city was a work of
the Great Peter's, which is giving it all the
illuftratioUj^
RUSSIA. "9
illuflration, that is necefTary ; for if ever
mortal was endowed with the true art of
governing, with that kind of univerfal ge-
nius, equally great in pradtice and fpecula-
tion, it was him. All his ideas, all his plans,
had fomething fo great and comprehenfive
in them ; fuch a power of forefeeing future
events, and fuch abilities, in providing for
them, that he never once failed in theory, tho*
in pradice, obftacles fometimes arofe which
were beyond his power to countera6l. The
founding of Peterfburgis one capital inftance;
for ever fince he made it the feat of his ma-
rine, and the principal trading town of his do-
minions, it has been of more real fervice to
the empire, than any other mcafure,he could
poffibly have adopted. What an extent of
political imagination is difplayed in his inland
navigations ! They have a greatnefs, unrival-
led in any other part of the world. But the
moft Capital projed of the Czar's was that,
wherein he planned a navigation to the Medi-
terranean. Next to Peterfburg,the favourite of
his empire, was Azoph,the reafon of which was
his defign of eftablifhing a trade from thence,
thro' theThracianBofphorus to the Archipe-
lago. This would not only have given him
greater mercantile advantagesthanPeterfburg,
I 4 but
120 TRAVELS THROUGH
but would have endangered the very being
of the Turkifh empire ; by letting a naval
power of the Ruffians into the very heart of
Conflantinople -, and that Peter defigned fome-
thing more, than commerce, we may eafily
gather from his forming docks, yards, and
naval magazines, atAzoph; and actually
had fbips of feventy guns upon the flocks,
which futhciently fhewed, that he intended
a naval war upon the Euxine fea againft the
Turks.
The Ruffian empire, though of fuch an
amazing extent, is very well knov/n to be
badly peopled. The beft writers inform us,
that it contains feventeen millions of inhabi-
tants, and one million in the conquered pro-
vinces ^ but from thebeft accounts I could get
at Peterfburg, I believe the number at prefent
to be more confiderable. Aim oil from the
moment, that the prefent emprefs began to
reign, fhe has increafed the number of her
fubjeds by many ways, principally by a gene-
ral and very adive encouragement of all arts,
of agriculture, raining, manufa6lures and
commerce, and this with fuch efFed, that all of
them are more flouriihing at this time by many
degrces,thanthey were twenty years ago. And
another means, which fhe takes to increafe
her people, has been inviting foreigners^
this
RUSSIA. 121
this file has done, in a ftill greater degree, thai)
any of her predecefTors ; almoft from her ac-
ceffion to the empire, fhe has brought conti-
nual bodies of Germans, Poles, and Greeks
from Turkey, to fettle in her dominions, and
thefe not few in numbers ; from the coafts of
Germany, fhip loads, but from Poland and
Turkey,wholetowns,villages anddiflrids hav^
left their habitations and fettled in Ruffia;
nor has it been only at certain times, but re-
gular emigration, in confequence of her conti^
nued encouragement.
This encouragement, which the Emprefs
has conftantly granted, confifts in feveral very
important articles. AH the expences of the
journey, or voyage from their native country,
are borne by her; fhe feeds and fupports them
by the way. Upon their arrival, at the terri-
tory, appointed them to cultivate, (which has
always been part of the crown lands) every
family has a cottage erected at her expence, to
which they contribute labour ; ,they then are
furnifhedwith implements, necefTary for cul-
tivation,and one year's provifions for thewhole
family. A further advantage is an exemption
from all taxes, during live years. All which
is a fyfhem of fuch admirable policy, and car-
ried into execution with fuch unufual fpirit,
even while the finances of the eii^pire have
been
12* TRAVELS THROUGH
been much diftrefTed by expenfive wars, that
I know not an inftance in hiftory, fuperior to
it. There can be no doubt, but the advan-
tages muftbeimmenfe, not only inpopulation,
but alfo revenue i for thefe fettlers, though
they have an afTignment of lands for ever, yet
it is, after a certain number of years, under
payment of an annual quit-rent, fufficient to
produce a confideiable revenue. The continu-
ed diforders in Poland, and the oppreffions in
Turkey, have caufed many thoufands of fa-
milies, annually to leave their country, and
make ufe of this bounty of the emprefs. By
this time, the inci'eafe of people muft be very
greatj fome perfons, whofe information I be-
lieve is very good, afTured me, that the num-
ber of fouls, thus gained, fince the acceffion of
the prefent Czarina, is not lefs than fix hun-
dred thoufandi I muft own, the number
appears almoft incredible. We may, with-
out fuppofing the total, fo very great, eafily
fee from hence, that (he muft have raifed
the revenue of the crown lands very much,
and put them in a way of being yet more im-
proved; for certainly, peopling them was the
firft rational flep, that could be taken , and one
which never could deceive her. I made en-
quiries concerning the fituatlon of the emi-
grants, and whether all the promifcs, that
had
RUSSIA. 123
had been made to them, had been executed;
and I was affured, that they were moft punc-
tually ; but that, in very many cafes, much
morewas done for them, than promifed, and
every effort taken, to make them perfectly fa-
tisfied with their choice j a proof of which is
the increafed numbers, that have been coming
from thebeginning: the accounts fent back by
the firft fettlers, being fuch, as induced others
to take the fame meafures, and this effect has
been regular ever fmce; fo that the number
of new comers is at prefent greater than ever,
and promifes to be fo confiderable, that in a
few years, if the troubles in Poland continue,
the increafe of people here will be immenfe,
and with them, certainly, that of the power,
and wealth of the empire. Nor has any event of
her reign difcovered a greater underll:anding,
than this regular favour fhewn to population.
The revenues of the Ruffian empire are very
great, confidering the value of money /'which
in thefc fort of difquifitions, ought ever to
be confidered, though it rarely is fo. The
Emprefs is, in many articles, the fole mer-
chant in her dominions. The whole trade,
by land to China, is on her account : this is
not indeed confiderable, for a caravan rarely
goes now. Rhubarb, pot-afhes, and fpices,are
branches, in which fhe, and nobody elfe,
trades.
fin. TRAVELS THROUGH
trades. Silt is an article, that brings her in
an immenfe revenue. Very large quantities
of thebefl hemp of theUkrain are bought and
fold on her account ; much iron, the fame ;
and even beer and brandy are her's. Befides
thefe articles, fhe has cuftoms, tolls, and a
poll-tax of three (hillings and fix-pence a
head. The erown-lands, which are prodi-
gioufly extenfive, bring in a confiderable
revenue.
The following general account was fhcwn
me at Peteriburg of the Emprefs's revenue,
jeckoned in Englifli money. It is handed
about there, and thought to be not very far
from the truth in any article.
Poll-tax ■ ■ 1,750,000
Crown-lands ■ ■ 672,000
Salt ' ■ ■ 542,000
Hemp and iron ■ 370,000
China trade. Rhubarb, and Spices 48,000
Pot-afhes 60,000
Cuflans • 179,000
Baths and licenfed houfes 68,000
Other duties 5cc, comprehendinp: 7
,11 f 400,000
all other taxes 3 ^
Total '■ " £ 3,689,000
But the value of fuch a revenue will not
uppcar
H ,U S S I A. 125
appear clearly to any reader, that does not
confider the great difference of the value of
money in this country, and others, that are
full of commerce and vv^ealth j upon tlie near-
eft computation I can make, thefe four mii^
lions are about as good, as ten in England.
"And if we fuppofe them ten, we fliall then
fee the great importance of liberty, trade and
manufaftures, in railing a pubUck revenue ;
for eighteeil or nineteen millions of. people
in Ruflia, yield no greater revenue, than
a third of that number, yield in England.
Wealth, therefore, depends no further on po-
pulation, than the induftry of that population
extends. It is a flourilliing agricuhure, im-
proving manufactures, and an extenfive com-
merce, which yield a great publick revenue.
Introducing induftry among all claffes of
people, that vv^ere not induftrious before, is
therefore as elTential an increafe of inhabitants,
as bringing in foreign emigrants : both theie
means have been employed by the prefent fo-
vereign of Ruffia, for the aggregate of the in-
duftry of this empire is vailly more con-
ljde];abie, than when (he came to the throne.
She has iflued out feveral edicts for the en-
couragement of agriculture ; and herein (he
has proceeded with her ufuaipoliticksi for £he
rightly confidered, that the way to make this '
moft:
126 TRAVELS THROUGH
moft ufeful of all the arts, to flouiifh, is to (et
itsprofefTors at eafe; (he has accordingly given
a much greater degree of liberty to the pea-
fants, than ever they enjoyed before; for they
were greater flaves, than even in Poland; but
now, every nobleman (called yet Boyards in
Ruffia) whofe eftate confifts of a given num-
ber of families, is obliged to enfranchife one
family every year, and they are direfted by
theEmprefs tofelect for thispurpofe the mofl
induftrious family they have : the peafant has
a farm affigned him, and theEmprefs makes
him aprefent of fome implement of the great-
eft ufe ; but he is, by the fame edid, to pay
after three years a rent to the nobleman, that
is very confiderable; the defign of which is to
convince the nobility of the advantage of let-
ting their eftates to the peafants, for a rent
in money: and I was informed, that many of
them had made a great progrefs in it, partly
from convi6lion of its expediency, and partly
from paying their court to the fovereign.
Befides this meafure, there are great en-
couragements given both in freedom, and in
exemption from taxes and fervices, to all thofe,
who improve waftc lands, by bringing them
into culture. Such a fyftem is highly ne-
cefTary in an empire, that contains more land
than Europe, but not more inhabitants, than
Germany;
RUSSIA. 127
Germany^ and where, immenfe tracks of as
fine foil, as any in the world, are utterly wade.
If the life of the prefent Emprefs is a long
one, great things will be done in this walk of
improvement, and many very exteniive terri-
tories cultivated, which have hitherto laid
wafte. The foreigners, which fhe has fettled,
andcontinues to fettle, and the encouragement
which huibandry meets with, will have a
great effed:, in giving a new countenance to
the agriculture of many provinces.
I made enquiries concerning the prefent
ftate of Ruffian manufactures, and was in-
formed, that they have never been able to make
them, any thing conliderable : They have
at Peterfburg fome very large founderies,
where all forts of ammunition and military
ftores are made ; and they make fome very
good cloth of hemp, but the quantity of this
laft is not confiderable. There are many other
fabricks, but notofconfequence, nor any ways
proportioned to the number of the people.
They have many woollen manufactories; bac
they do not cloath even their own armv.
England has the greateft fliare in the com-
merce of fupplying them; the import, at Pe-
terfburg of coarfe and fine woollen cloths, is
very confiderable : v/hat we do not fend them,
they have from the Dutch -, but the French
fend
I2S TRAVELS THROUGH
fend none. Nor is there hardly a manufac-
tory in England, that does not fend great
quantities of its fabricks hither ; and, not-
withftandjng, fo great an exportation, yet the
importation of hemp, iron. Sec. is fo great,
that a large balance is paid (as I before men-
tioned) to Ruffia. There are feveral inftances
of much encouragement being given to the
national manufadures, but the effe6l has not
been great, and I muft own myfelf of opinion,
that it never will be great -, for the Ruflians
do not feem to take to any fort, but thofe, in
which they are from their infancy converfant.
They make excellent carpenters, (hip-build-
ers, fmiths, and founders, but they will ne-
ver make a figure, as weavers.
It alfo deferves enquiry, whether it would
be highly political, to make any great efforts
in complicated manufactures, which require
very many hands, while there is fo immenfe
a territory to cultivate, and not of barren
mountains,likeSweden, but of great extended
plains of as rich land, as the beft parts of
England, orevenHolland : confequently,with
fuch materials to work upon, it is much to be
queflioned, if a given number cf hands would
not in raifmg hemp and flax, or making pot-
afhes, bring in a greater fum of money to the
country, than if they were employed in ma-
nufactures.
RUSSIA. 129
nufa^ures. It appears to me very clearly, that
they would. From the defcriptlons, which I
have had of feveral immenle provinces of
this empire, I have no doubt, but a thoufand
pounds and ten people would, employed ifi. at-
tending cattle, yield a greater return in hides
and tallow alone, than from any manufac-
tures they could be employed in ; for there
are meadows (not bogs or marfbes) covered
with fine grafs of an hundred fquare miles in
a place, with no other inhabitants, than what
are wild, and very few of them. In a coun-
try, where there is fuch plenty of excellent
land, and through which, run fo many navi-
gable rivers, that would conveyall its products
to a "ready market; and notwithftanding thefe
advantages, there are large wafles, ftill on the
very banks of thofe rivers ; under fuch cir-
cumflances, I apprehend, that no attention to
manufactures can yield a profit, equal to a
froper cultivation : the wealth arifing from it,
would be far greater, the public revenue
would be much more improved, and popula-
tion increafed in a much greater proportion.
If I was fufhciently verfed in the theory of
flocking ground with inftruments of tillage,
arid with cattle, &c. I fhould be able to make
this appear by minute calculations; but I do
Vol. III. K not
J30 TRAVELS THROUGH
not apprehend, that there is any reafon, m
general, to doubt it.
While this is the cafe, whoever fills the
throne of Ruffia, will moft advance the inter-
eils of that empire, by promoting, by every pof-
fible means, the cultivation of fo immenfe a
territory ; if there happens a fucceflion for a
long period of time, of fuch fovereigns, as at
prelent fill that throne, this vafl: empire will
be raifed by thefe means to a pitch of grandeur,
much exceeding, what it at prefent pollefles:
and from the condu6t, which has been hitherto
purfued by the prefent Emprefs, there is great
reafon to think, that fhe is feniible of the im?
portance of directing her views principally
to this end; they have hitherto been at-
tended with fuch fuccefs, as to be a very ftrong
proof, that the plan, upon which file has pro-
ceeded, is a juft one; a different one might
have been followed more in favour of manu-
factures, by planting the foreign emigrants
thickly in the near neighbourhood of thofe
places only, which have fabrics in them,
with a view to the employment of many of
them in thefe manufactures.
Relative to the commerce of Rufiia, it
iliould be remembered, previoufly to any en-
quiry into its prefent ftate, that this immenle
empire is by no means fituated advantageoufly
for
RUSSIA. 131
for trade. The onlj ports that it pofTefles, from
which any trade of confequence can be carried
on, are in the Baltick, a fea, that is frozen
almoft half the year; and, at the fame time^
it is at the extremity of the empire ; fo that
the commodities, which are exported through
this fea, are obliged to be brought fome
.thoufand of miles, before they are put on
board the fhips. This is fuch a difads^antage^
that it much affe<9:s the commerce of the em-
pire, and is of a nature, that will not admit of
any remedy. This circumflance coniidered^
the commerce of Ruflia is very confiderable,
as to the export of its produdts and commo-
dities, but the fhipping of the empire is very
trifling, compared with thatto which Ihe gives
employment. All the trade, which the Eng-
lilh carry on with Ruffia, is in their own bot-
toms; it is the fame with the Dutch, and al-
moft all other European nations; fo that the
Ruffian flag is Icarcely known in the world ^
although Ruffian commodities are met with
in fo many places.
To remedy this evil by a general extenfioa
of commerce, and by procuring a navigation
on a more favourable fea, the Czar, Peter the
Great, formed the noble plan of railing a naval
pov^er on the Black fea, and eftabliffiing at
coronierce on it, with a communication thro'
K z the
132 TRAVELS THROUGH
the fea of Conftantinople with the Mediterra-
nean ; one of the greateft defigns, which
could have entered the head of any fovereign
of Ruffia, and which would give a very confi-
derable {hare of the commerce of the world to
. that empire. It fhould be remembered, that
the richeft produ6ls, which Ruffia exports, are
thofe of the mod fouthernly provinces, parti-
cularly the Ukraine; which is univerfally al-
lowed to be one of the fineft countries in the
world; the rivers, which flow thro' this ter-
ritory, all take their courfe to the Black fea;
fo that it is only by an artificial navigation,
and a long land carriage, that they are brought
to Peterfburg. It is well known, that they
could be delivered at Conftantinople for a
much lefs price than at Peterfburg ; which ,
with the increafe of trade, refulting from a na-
vigation open all the year, and immediately
into the center of Europe, would give the
ernpire at one ftroke, ten times the commerce,
it can ever pofl'efs otherwife ; and would, at
the fame time, give the Czarina fuch an advan-
tage over the Turks, as to endanger the very
exiftence of Conftantinople, and with it, that
of their empire. And if the plan, upon which
that great monarch condu6ted his wars againft
the Turks, be confidered, it will appear, that
he never lolt fight of this great object. Azoph
was
RUSSIA. I.3J
was the town, which he acquired at a very
great expence of men and money : he fortified
,it at a yet greater expence, and built a fleet of
ftout fhips for that navigation, with docks,
yards, and magazines of all forts ; but the
unfortunate campaign of the Pruth put an
end to his hopes, and gave back that conquefl:
to^^the Turks. Had he been fuccefsfu], he
defigned the conquefl of the Crimea, which
would at once have given him pofleffion of a
noble province, and the command of the
Euxine. The fame idea was fteadily purfued
in the war of 1735, which ended with the
ceflion of Azoph to the Ruffians, a fortrefs,
of all others, the moft important for the pro-
fecution of this defign.
A very little reflection will give us an idea
of fome of the confequences, which would, in
all probability, attend the execution of this
plan. Without fuppoiing an entire conquefl of
Moldavia, Bulgaria, and Walachia, with the
Tartar diflrids to the North of the fea, as
ibme writers have done, let us only ftate the
navigation, from the Euxine to the Mediterra-
nean, being made free to both nations, and
Azoph and the Crimea in the hands of the
Ruffians. They would then have a free navi-
gatioi:^ from all parts of their empire, by
K 3 means^
^34- TRAVELS T H R O U G f^
means of the Tanais and the Donetz, down to
Azoph ; that poi't would then be the grand ma-
gazhie of all the commodities of their empire,
where their fhips would load for diflrributing
them through a-11 the fouthern countries of
Europe, and on the coaft of Africa, at the
fame time, that Peterfhurg fent them to all the
Northern ones. But this trade would gave
them a new export, which would prove, per-
haps,;of more confequence, than all the others
put together; that of corn: the fineft terri-
tories of Europe for huihandry are faid to be
the tracks on the North of the Black fea, in-
cludmg the province of the Ukraine; at pre»
fent, thefe countries have no vent for fuch a
produft^ and therefore raife no more, than for
tbelr own eonfumption; but, in cafe of fuch
a Ruilian navigation, as I am nowfpeaking of,
this territory would lie much better for liip-
piying the beft corn markets in Europe, than
thofe, which at prefent fupply them. Barbary
and Sicily, it Is true, yield an uncertain fupply;
but it is well known, that Holland fupplies
moft of the demands of Portugal, Spain, and
Italy, when embargoes are laid in England ;
and the Duth bring the corn, they thus trade
in from I>antzick; let the reader therefore
compare the navigation from Azoph, to all
the coafls of the Mediterranean, with that
from
RUSSIA. 135
from Dantzick, round three fourths of Eu-
rope. It is very evident, that the Ruffians
would at once command the entire fupplj ot
all thofe countries; not onlj^ with fo impor-
tant an article, as that of corn, but would, for
the fame reafon, gain the exclufive trade of'
naval flores to them likewise; iron, hemp, can-
vafs, timber, &c.
Relative to ftrength in war, the fuccefs of
(lich a plan would only be too great ; for one
can hardly fuppofe, the Turks would fubmit
to a Ruffian navigation, through the heart of
Conftantinople, without they were firfl: reduced
to the laft extremity; and in fuch a flate of
weaknefs, their fubmitting to it, would, in
cafe of a fucceeding war, be but another word
for the overthrow of their empire. It would
depend on the naval force of the two empires
on the Black fea ; for whichever fleet, in cafe
of a quarrel, was fuperior, they would nearly
command the event of the war; if the Turks
had the better, the Ruffians would be cut off
from all the advantages propofed ; and if
viftory declared for the latter, Couftantinople,
and all the provinces of the Ottoman empire,
would be expofed to them in the mod dange*
rous manner; and if the advantages of the Ruf-
fians, in building and equpping fleets, with
their territory behin4 them,fo aboundingwith
K 4 ail
136 TRAVELS THROUGH
all forts of materials, be confidered, it can
hardly be doubted, but they would gain the
mofi: decilive fuperiority. Nor fhould I omit
obferving, that the mere poflfeflion of Azoph
might be made a means of putting this plan
in execution, and carrying any future war,
if well direded, to the gates of Conftanti-
nople.
Let any one confider the prefent afpe£t of
affairs in that quarter, and the motions of the
Ruffian troops, and it will be evident, that
this idea is now in being; and that, in all pro-
bability, before the prefent war fees a period,
the Turks will find the arms of Ruflia, infi-
nitely heavier, than in the laft, and themfelves
attacked with a maritime force on the Black
fea, much too great for them to contend with.
I have been told, that it is a fixed determina-
tion of the Czarina's, not to conclude this war,
without gaining a powerful eftabHfhment on
the Black fea, fo that Azoph may be but one
flep, to conned: with further and equally im-
portant acquifitions.
If we judge from the prefent flate of the
Ruflian army, we may look for great fuccefs;
from the firfl foundation of it, the officers did
not want experience ; and the men may all
be called veterans. It is the fame army, that
faw all the campaigns againfl the king of
Pruf.
RUSSIA. 137
Pruffia, that were beat, Without flying, at
Zorndorf, and conquered at Cunnerfdorf;
and that have fince been in continual adion in
Poland, and always vidlorious. It coniifts of
two hundred and fifty thoufand old foldierSj
iixty thoufand of which are horfe, better
mounted, and finer troops, than any, that
were ever in the Ruffian army before; with a
train of artillery as fine, as any in the world,
and what is yet of more confequence, well
fupplied with officers and engineers, from
all parts of Europe, attra6led by every muni-
ficent encouragement. The Ruffians are very
fenfible, that the lofies they fuftained, and
their want of fuccefs in general, againft
the king of Pruffia, was owing to their ar-
tillery, being very badly ferved, and it has
given them a great eagernefs to remedy this
fatal evil; and, at prefent, I believe, they have
done it efFe£lually ; they will not any where be
wanting in fuccefs on that account.
This empire has not any neighbours, to
whom it is not much fuperior in force, and in
the confi:itution of its army. Poland is at its
mercy, and will continue fo, till (he is reduced
to a province, an event, I fhould never be
much furprized at. Pruffia is not comparable
in power to Ruffia, and could never make
the {land againfl her arms again, that we faw
in
T38 TRAVELS THROUGH
in the laft war ; becaufe the Ruffian army is
better, more numerous, and with an artillery,
that yields to none in Europe ; and, at the
fame time, with an advantage fhe never en-
joyed before ; Poland behind her, three
fourths of it abfolutely in her power, to winter
in, inftead of falling back to Ruffia, which
was the cafe before. I dwell the more up-
on thefe particulars, becaufe it appears very
clearly to me, that the next general war will
fee thefe two powers again in oppofition, and
I conje6lure with very different fuccefs.
The prefcnt ftate of the Ruifian navy pro-
mifes alfo well to the empire; for it never
faw fo many hands, employed in it, fince the >
time of Peter the Great to the prefent. New^
fhips are every day launching at Peterlburg,
and all the old ones, repairing with great ex-
pedition; a flout fquadron is fitting out, of
fuch a force, that one would think, the Em-
prefs meant to awe the Baltic, while her army
is employed againil the Turks. She has
many fiiip-carpenters on the Tanais, and will
be extremely formidable on the Black fea.
So that if ever Ruflia began a war with a
good profped of fuccefs, it is this againft the
Turks.
There are many Englifh at Peterfburg; be-
fides feveral gentlemen in the Britifli fadory,
with
RUSSIA. 139
•with whom I became acquainted, on my firfl
comuig hither : there are fo many, that I am
convinced, we have more people in the Jluf-
lian fervice by fea and land, as well as in many
other departments, than is conjectured inEng-
land. Th^y certainly meet with good encou-
ragement, or they would not be tempted to leave
their own country; and very politic it is of
the Emprefs, to avail herfelf fo ftrongly of the
alliance, fhe has with us; for nothing can be
of more importance to her, than getting as
. many of our officers by lea and land into her
fervice, as poffible ; men, fhe has in abun-
dance, and men, that will ftand for ever to be
ihot at; but the defarts of Ruffia will not give
her experienced officers, tho' her own wars
have formed many, under the tuition of fo-
reigners. Our engineers are of infinite con-
fequence to her; and Ihe has great numbers
of fhip- carpenters from Britain, as well as of-
ficers and common feamen. There never was
a period, more favourable to fuch defigns, than
the conclulion of the late war, in which we
had employed a greater number of forces,
both by land and fea, than we could poffibly
keep up in peace ; fo that very many of them
might be fuppofed willing enough to enter in-
to the fervice of a power, in alliance with us;
ail
I40 TRAVELS THROUGH
an opportunity invaluable to the Emprefsj
and of which, I am clear, fhe made good ufe.
This caufe, with the conftant trade we car-
ry on with Peterfburg, fills that city with
Englifh, Sotch, and Irifli ; but they make
no great figure; which is very ealily, account-
ed for. From what I have feen of the Rul^
fians, the character, I had heard of them, ap-
pears very jufl ; they are a flrange people,
that carry, in all the lower clafles, the marks of
civility, jufl emerging from barbarity. They
are obedient, and very patient ; but have a
morofenefs, that feems, as if it would never be
tamed. The lowefl among them live in con-
jftant fe verity, yet that does not feem to bow
down their fpirits or activity, as flavery does
in all other countries : they make nothing of
hardfhips, and will bear in continuance, what
would deftroy, in a fhort time, other people of
lefs robufl conflitutions. The higher clafTes,
however, fhow nothing of this. They appear,
in fome meafure, like other people, which is
the efFeft of luxury among them, that every
where foftens andhumanizesthepeopleamong
whom it comes. It may be thought odd by
thofe, who have never been in Ruffia, that I
Ihould talk of luxury among the Mufcovites;
but there is no Court in Europe, in which (the
lituation and other circumflanccs of the coun-
try
R tJ § S I A. 141
try confidered) there is more luxury ; and par^
ticularly, in the article of drefs, equipage, fer-
vants, and the table; which is including the
mofl devouring branches of it. I have been
three times at court, which is, what we com-
monly call, very fplendid; the drefles of every
body are more expenfive, thanlhave anywhere
feen: all in gold and iilver and jewels, but
fcarcely any tafte; they have in their drefles
but one ambition, which is to be as rich, as
poffible, and to have a great change ; but as
to having an idea of tafte, and real elegance,
even the nobihty feem not to know, what it
is. They are ridiculoufly fhewy, the climate
confidered, in their coaches and fledges,
thinking, in every infl:ance of this fort, that
their rank can only be manifefled by an enor-
mous expence. In their tables alfo, they are
in the fame flile; profufe in every thing: this
has a very bad effeO: ; for their revenues, a part
of which ought to be expended upon their
eftates in improvements, and finding employ-
ment for their neighbouring poor, are all
:fquandered in the luxury of the capital, giv-
ing employment toEngUflimen, Frenchmen,
and Dutchmen, inftead of their own country-
men. I know not, what motive the govern*
ment can have had, for a long while, in en-
couraging this profuiion, unlefs it be, ta
keep
142 TRAVELS THROUGH
keep all the nobles poor, and thereby the
more dependent.
The government of Ruffia is the mofl ab-
folute in Europe ; there is not even the ap-
pearance of the leaft barrier, between the will
of the fovereign and the people : all ranks are
equally (laves to the Emprefs, not fubjeds ;
and their punifhments fliew the fpirit of the
legiflature ; the greateil nobility are liable to
fufFer the knout, that is, to be whipped to
death ; and other violent punifhments are
ufed, fuch as cutting out tongues, hanging up
by the ribs, and many other efforts of barbari-
ty, which fhew the cruelty of defpotifm,
without having any good effedl. In the fame
fpirit alfo, we have feen the revolutions of the
government : fcarcely, a fovereign dies a na-
tural death, but is cut off; and, by a revolu-
tion in the government, a wife, a brother,
or a iifter, fixed in the throne ; and all this
performed by the regiments of guards, who,
in fadt, are pretorian cohorts, giving away
the empire at their pleafure. This is ever «i
jTiark of a defpotic government, which is al-
ways infecure, in proportion to its feverity.
It is amazing, that politic princes, who
are advanced to a throne by the favour of two
/)r three regiments of guards, do not fee in a
clearer manner, that the fame power, which
frivcj
RUSSIA. 14,3
gives, can take away; and, the moment they
are firmly fixed in their power, do not extir-
pate the corps to whom they owe their ad-
vancement. Peter the Great faw the tenden-
cy of the Strehtes and difbanded them, inftitu-
ting three regiments of guards in their place;
but thefe guards, from not being fent to diftant
campaigns, and being conftantly around the;
perfon of the fovereign, are, in fa6l, the fame
in power and opportunity, as the Strelites. la
a free government, or even in an abfolute
monarch, provided, there is a fliew of fome
liberty, fuch, as is in the kingdoms of France,
Spain, &c. we do not fee the guards, daring to
acl in this manner: but in countries of pure
defpotifm, like Rufiia, Turkey, Perfia, &c.
a prince, in order to be fafe, fhould have
no guards in particular, but all the regiments
of bis army, ihould be guards by turns; and
when he is aw.i^y from the capital, the garri-
fon of every place, he is in, be his guard, for
the time he is there. This method, tho*
it might not infure them from all the evils,
which attend defpotifm, yet it would give
them a much greater degree of fecurity, than,
they could poffibly be in otherwife; which one
would apprehend an objedl of the firfl impor-
tance.
The Roman hiflory is full of inflances of
emperors
144 TRAVELS THROUGH
emperors being depofed, and others fet up, by
thepretorian cohorts. Many are the Otto-
man emperors, who have been flrangled by
the Janiffaries ; and the hiftories of other
countries, underfimilarcircumftances, abound
with the like examples; which (hould make
thpfe monarchs, that owe their advancement
to a few regiments, fele£ted from the reft of
the army, throw all their forces upon the
fame footing.
Peteriburg is tolerably gay, befides the bril-
liancy, it derives from the court. There are a.
great many concerts, in which we find nume-.
rous performers of great merit, but all Ger-
mans; here are plays alfo exhibited, but irre-
gularly, and not with agreeable circum-
ftances ; an opera was eflablifhed, but it did
not lafl long; but by the accounts I have had,
the gala time is, when parties can be made on
the ice : In winter, all the country is covered
with fnow, frozen fo hard, that it is the
common feafon for travelling; and then Innu-
merable parties are made in fledges, which are
drawn on the frozen fnow over lakes, plains,
rivers, bogs, &c. and mufl: form a fpedlacle,
really aflonifliing to thofe, who never beheld
It: I am alio told, that this way of travelling
js fovery commodious, expeditious, and agree-
able, that a thoufand miles are pafled with
much
R ij S S i A. i45,
tniicii greater cafe, than an hundred at any-
other leafon. As I purpofe feeing the fouthern
provinces of the empire, I fhaii therefore be
gone, before this entertainment is tobe reaped ;
but; if I can make it tolerably convenient,
will take afnare in it, on my return for Po-
land ; tho' I have no great idea of travelling
on fnowwith any degree of information, or
even much entertainment; for the foil, and
the cultivation of it, and the ftate of the pea-
fants, which afford me, not only infi:ru6lionj
but entertainment,are then rendered invifiblei
fo that a journey, full of the greatefl variety,
mull have then an entire famenefs. This
frozen fnov/ is, however, of prodigious con-
fequence to the trade of this country; forcar-
riage upon it, is wonderfully cheap, and more
expeditious, than can well be conceived, which
is a matter of great advantage to a country,
that has fuch roads as Ruffia.
. The journey, from Peterfburg to Pekin, is
the longeftj that is gone by land throughout
the world ; it is near a year and half going,
and as much returningj but then it is a tra-
ding caravan, much encumbered with bao--
gage and merchandize, and in a part of the
route wdth water; for all the men and cattle,
for many days, are paffing fandyd^farts, which
are utterly void of water. Part of this im-
VoL, III, L menfc
J46 TRAVELS' THROUGH
menfe route is performed on the fnowj
through a northerly part of Siberia, where
there are no roads^ which are pafTable, except
on thefnow. Of this vaft journey, Mr. Bell, in
his travels, has given a very good account. Ife
is much owing to that gentleman, that the
world knows any thing of Siberia, which is
certainly one of the moft extenfive countries
in the world ; and, to the furprize of the
weftern part of Europe, confifts of feveral
provinces, all of them three or four times
as big, as Great Britain, with a moft fertile
foil, and a mild climate in the foiithern
parts, capable of feeding a moft numerous
population; but inftead of being peopled, in
any proportion, to its ftze, it is, comparative-
ly fpeaking, a mere defart. But I can never be
perfuaded, that it is impoflible for a fove-
reign of P.uffia, who fets heartily about it with
judgment, activity, and penetration, to peo-
ple all his dominions ; or, at leaft, to put
tliem in a way of doubling their numbers,
in as fliort a period, as ever our American co-
lonies did; for this great work a time of pro-
found peace would be necefTary, and an em-
peror, that was of a truly philofophic difpofi-
tion. liberty muft be diffufed, all flavery
of the lower ranks broken through, and every
man allovN'cdto become a farmer, that pleafes..
I pur-
k U S S I A. 147
' I purpofed leaving Peterfburg, the firft week
in September, being the furtheft time, I was
informed, that I could venture to fet out up-
on a long journey, unlefs I llaid till the frofl
^nd fnow were fet in. My defign was to go
to Mofcow, and from thence to Kiovia, the
capital of the Ukraine, a country, I was de-
firous of feeing. Upon making enquiries into
the proper preparations for fuch a journey, I
found, there were but t woplans ; one, to travel
with a carravan to Mofcow, and the other to
go only with my own attendants, of which
I fhould not have iefs than five, and all well
armed : that it would not be advifeable to
travel with my own horfes, as I might pro-
cure a military order, to be fuppiied by the
peafarlts, from poll to pofl, at a fmall price;
and, at the fame time, the owner of the horfes
would attend, as a guide. In purfuance of this
advice, I fold my little Swedifh horfes, though
fbmething againil my will, and made up my
guard with my own fervant, my Germaa
poftillion, and my Swede, who underflood the
Ruffian language ; and to thefe I added, by
the favour of General Worofoff (to whom
I am otherwife much indebted) tv^o foot foi-
diers from his own regiment. Thefe five fel-
lows were each of them armed with a broad
fword, a pair of piilols and a carbine ; and I
L 2 crried
f48. TRAVEL Sr TEIROUGH
carried a pair of piftols and a fhort rifled bar-
rel gun, which were my arms from Denmark
through all Sweden, though I never had any
necelTityof ufmg them. Thus equipped, I was
alFured, I might travel in perfe6l fafety
through all Ruflia.
e H A P, V.
'journey from Peterjhurg to Mofcow — Defcrtp^
. X 4fon of tJje Country — Great Settlement of Poles
— Mofcow — fourneyinto The Ukraine — Ac-
I :^^ount of that fine Province — Defer iption of the
j^gri culture of it — Culture of HefUpyTobacco^
■ Mc^
LEFT Peterfburg, the 6th of September,,
and, with much difficulty, got to Juam-
gorod, which is fifty miles, through a country
which is alternately a marfli and woods.
From . thence to Novogorod took me threq
days, being the diftance of one hundred,
iijilcs. I laid, both nights, at Ruffian inns. I,
travelled in the charader of a general officer
\n the King of England's fervice, which was,
of noflight ufe ramcj foritis not eafy to con-
ceive the refpe6l, which all the lower ranks of,
peoplcpayto the military, of whatevernation,
£irovided they make any figure.; and the num-
ber
RUSSIA, t4^
htr of my attendants, with their being fo well
armed, and the various languages we fpoke,
feemed to imprefs the people \dth a notion>
that I was a perfon of very great confequencei
The Ruffians have nothing in them that one
can properly call civilitVj but I met with the
moll pcxfect obfequioufnefs and obedience s
and having provided myfelf with good bread,
I lived upon excellent fifh, throughout the
journey. ^ bout Novogorod, the country is
part of it cultivated, but the inclofures are
thin, and there do not feem to be any great
exertions of induflry in it, but the foil appears
to be a fine, deep, rich loam.
September the i ith, I got to Midna, which
is above forty miles. This line of country is
beautiful, being in fine, but gentle inequali--
ties, and only fprinkled with fmall woods,
and well watered with rivers : there is much
cultivated land ; but the harveft was all got
in. I faw fome crops of turneps, fuch as are
common in Sweden, and as fine, but the
people feem to be very miferable. Many of
the peafants have farms, but then they can
only work them, v/hen their landlords allow: .
three or four days in the week, they labour on
the lands of their mafters, finding fometimes
cattle and implements, in confideration of
being allowed the reft of their time on their
L 3 own
15© TRAVELS THROUGH
O'vvn farms ; yet for thefe, they pay a conli-
derable rent in producls, and are befides open
to the fupplying all military travellers with
Jiorfes, for which they get a very fpare allow-
ance, and fometimes nothing at all. In a
word, their flate is fo little better, than the
common labourers, who work conftantly for
their lords, that I did not find it a matter of
envy to the latter.
The 1 2th I reached Thedray, a little town,
prettily fituated near a river, the fame country
continuing for forty-four miles, and much of
\t tolerably well cultivated. I paflTed through
feveral very extenfive plains of meadow, that
appeared very fine, but were not well ilocked
with cattle. The villages feem very well
peopled.
The 1 4th I got to Twera, which is a con-
fiderable town on the river Wolga, the dif-
tance above eighty miles. The peafants have
hitherto furnilhed me very well with horfes ;
yet their pay is not three farthings a mile,
with fomethirig for the peafant. I have given,
to the value of four-pence Englifli for a day's
journey, with which they feem to be very
well fatisiied; from whence I conjedure,
that they ufually have nothing. This line of
country is pretty well peopled. 1 paffed
through feveral towns, and many villages,
with
RUSSIA. 151
with fome cultivated country, that was cut
into inclofures, and appeared to be kept in
good order. Upon making enquiry, they in-
formed me, that they cultivated barley, oats,
and buck- wheat j and, from the beft conjec-
ture I can make, from the intelligence they
gave me, in Ruflian weight and meafure, to
the amount of between two and three quar-
ters Englifh per acre. All the lands, that are
in culture here, belong to the nobility, whofe
agents manage them with the peafants : but
fome which they pointed out at a diftance, be-
longed to others, who, I found, were pofTeiTors
pf the land, but not nobles ; in other words,
gentlemen . It was with fome difficulty, that
I could get my two foldiers to behave with
any decency to the peafants ; they were al-
ways ready for giving them a blow^ when
gentle words would do to the full as well;
but I curbed this licentioufnefs, which gave
me a clear idea of the government of Ruflla,
and, at the fame time, convinced me, that all
the Emprefs's fine fchemes for encouraging
agriculture mufl inevitably come to nothing.
Thepeafant, who concluded me toTwera, told
me, on the road, that fuch a track of land
was his father's farm : that it belonged to
o
Ilim, not being hired of any landlord; and
would, after his father's death, come to him.
L 4 I faid^
152 TRAVELS THROUGH
I faid, then he would have an opportunity of
living much better, and being more comfort-
able than at prefent. He replied, no ; that
if he got any thing, the Count Woronofkoy
woiild take it, for there was a payment (which
I took to be in the nature of a quit-reiU)
to him out of it. I obferved feveral good
tracks, that v/ere arable ; he faid, that his fa-
ther's land was chiefly meadow, but he hired
fome ploughed ground of the Count , and I
found, that the rent of good arable land was
two {hillings an acre, that was in regular
culture. But this is not a mark of great
cheapnefs, the prices of all produdls being
proportionate; for good bread is, through this
country, at about a farthing a pound, and
mutton and beef fomething better than three
farthings, but under a penny ; fo that every
thing elfe muft of courfe be proportionate.
And a farmer muft cultivate a large track of
ground to raife a fmall fum of money ; but
the cafe is, that money is fo valuable, that
they raife no more produ6ls, than neceffary for
their common purpofes and rent, and thefmall
fum they bring, anfwers, where all things
are proportioned. I found from this man's
account, that a farmer, who lived upon his
own eftate, was at the mercy of the neareft
nobleman, and, if he grew rich, would furely
R \J S S I A. 153
jbe fleeced by him. It is impoiiible to intro..
iduce improvements into fuch a country^
V^ithout an entire new fyilem.
As 1 advanced in my journey, I every where
made enquiries after new fettlements on the
Jand,s, belonging to the Emprefs ; but heard
Ijothing of them, till I got to Twera ; there
they toid me, that in the foreft of Volkouikile,
,^bout an hundred miles to the fouth-vvefl,
was a very krge new colony of Poles, fettled
at the expenee of the Czarina. I immedi-
ately determined to go out of my way to view
it, that I might have an opportunity to fee, in
what manner they were hxed, and what a
reception they met witli. I got there the
1 6th, palling through a country, the chief of
which is wafte, being either foreft or mea-
dow, but with few villages. I found the fet-
tlement of Poles, confifted of about fix hun-
dred families, and pleafed me better, than
any thing I had. feen in Ruffia. Each family
has a fmall, but not a bad houfe, built of
wood, and covered with fhingles ; a houfe as
good or better, than the generality of fmall
farm-houfes in England, where the mud walls
would give foreigners an idea, that we
were the poorefl nation in Europe. Behind
every houfe was an inclofure of about fifty
Englifli acres in one field. The fence was 4-
ditch
1754' T RAVELS THROUGH
ditch and parapet, with a row of young plants
for a hedgs, that feemed to be a kind of elm»
Each inclofure came down to a rivulet, where
eattle might water. Each family had two
flieep, and a ram, to a certain number, a cow,
and a couple of oxen to till the arable, with
a cart and a plough ; all which were at the
Emprefs's expence,and do not coft, what they
would in England. This may be conceived,
when I give the rates. Two oxen for
ploughing and carting, come to but five
pounds ; a cow to thirty fhillings ; a fheep
cighteen-pence ; a plough four fhillings ; a
cart nine ihilHngs ; each houfe coft the Em-
prefs about four and twenty fhillings ; and
every family had an allowance of provifion,
the firft year, from the neighbouring country,
which coft her nothing -, fo that the total
expence, per family, was only eight pounds
ten fliillings, and many of the families confift
of eight or nine perfons. The farms were all
under culture, and fubdivided by the people
themfelves 3 and I obferved, that thefe inner
fences were done exadly in the fame manner,
as the furrounding ones. Some had four
iields, others five, and fome fix. The land,
when they fettled it, was wafte foreft, but not
many trees on it, that yielded a wild and luxu-
riant ^rafs : it is a red loam. on clay. . The
peafantR
R u s SI a; t^^
ficafants cultivate wheat without exception,
which they had been ufed to in Poland ; each
had one field of it 5 alfo a crop of barley,
eats, or rice -, with a piece of beans, and
another of turneps. Their farms were in
general in good ojder, and they feemed to
be extremely diligent and induftrious in their
management. Some of them had vaflly in-
creafed their cattle, keeping as many, as they
pleafed on the adjoining foreft : fome had
more than twenty fheep, ten cows, and fix
oxen ; but they had greatly increafed their
farms, which the Emprefs allows, provided
the former portion is all in culture. They
all feemed to be perfedly happy, being en-
tirely free from all opprefiion by being on the
lands of the crown ; and there is no doubt,
but they will in time yield a fine revenue,
without any fe verity being employed.
Some of them had pieces of hemp, which
thrives with them fo well, that its culture
increafes among them daily. I enquired par-
ticularly into the value of an acre, and found,
that it was worth upon the fpot from fifty
IJiillings to four pounds, which, I think,
is very confiderable, and ihews, that thefe
new colonies may prove a fource of very great
wealth and population.
It
t56 TRAVELS THROUGH
It is extremely evident from this inftancc^
that the way of bringing improvements to
bear in Ruffia, is not by encouragements,
given to the peafants,unlefs they could at once
be fet as free, as in other countries, which^
I am convinced already, is an impoflibility,
from what 1 have fcen on this journey ; be-
caufe the nobility and other land- owners, to
whom they are valTals, fleece and opprefs them
to fuch a degree, that they can never be fecure
of any property, unlefs their encouragement
comes from their own lords. Even they, who
are not vafTals, but have pofTeffions of their
own, are trampled on by the foldiery. No
improvement, by giving them a greater degree
of liberty, can therefore have any effed:, un-
lefs it comes from their lords ; as in this cafe
of the Polifh emigrants. The Emprefs, fixing
them upon the crown-lands, they are vafTals
of the crown, and all the liberty, flie chufes
to give them, they will fecurely enjoy, with-
out any one's daring to injure them in any
refpe(ft -, and as the fovereign can never pro-
fitably cultivate an extenfive domain for her
own account, this is the only means of work-
ing improvements, and they cannot fail of
proving moft highly profitable.
And the nobility have it alfo in their power
to make the fame improvements upon their
own
H tj S S t A. 157
own eftates^r becaufe, under their proteclion,
the peafants would be fecure. But as to all
general improvements in hu{bar}dry,itis mere-
ly impoffible, that they fhould be attended
with the leaft efFe(5l, Every landlord has
every thing in his power upon his own lands,
provided, I mean, he be of rank and confe-
quence ; and they have the ability, by means
of the flavery of their peafants, to work very
great, effects, if they pleafed. to undertake
iheqi* Laws or edidts therefore muft be di-
rected to them : the rewards, for a proper
condudt fhould all be granted to them^ the
Emprefs fhould addrefs herfelf to them, and
let them find favour at court, in proportion to
the cultivation of their eflates : thefe are the
only means of doing great things.
The crown lands are fo amazingly exten-
live, that very great things might in this
mapner be done, and far more effedually,
than by general laws, in a country, where
the people are fo habituated to flavery, that
it would be a vain attempt to free them under
all maflers. Thefe fix hundred families had
at once thirty thoufand acres in culture, be-
lides the increafc, which, by many of them,
was very confiderable ; all which will, iii
procefs of time, yield a great revenue to the
crown, befidesj the ac(],uifition of flrength,
which
J58 TRAVELS THROUGIl
which the empire receives by the addition of
population, and the amount of fo much in-
duftry, as all thefe people create. After five
years, this colony is to pay an annual rent,-
which in ten more will be increafed, and after
that, remain a freehold to the Poles, fubjedt
only to that rent. An idea of the field, which
the Emprefs has for improvement, may be
conje6lured by one contiguous track of wafle
and foreft, partly in the Ziranni province,
which contains above thirty-feven millions of
Englifh acres, and belongs to the crown, be-
fides tracks in Siberia and Tartary, ten times
as large. It is therefore extremely evident,
that the great object of Ruffian politicks
fhould be the peopling and cultivating the
crown lands ; which, if managed with un-
remitted diligence, and without fparing ex-
pence, might be continually on the improv^"
ment, and in fuch fwift manner, that the
quantity of land, rendered profitable, might
foon be immenfely great.
This colony of Poles have a market in the
middle of their fettlement on the great roadj
where merchants refort to buy their fparepro-
du6ts, hemp, &c. bringing all thofe forts of
commodities, which they want -, and this
trade occafions a circulation among them*
which is highly advantageous. The report
of
±1 , U S S I A. J5^
of the indulgence and benefits, they have met
with, has had great efFedt in Poland j fo that
they pointed out to me a track of land con-
tiguouSjwheretheyfoonexpecledtwo hundred
families more. Having viewed feveral farms
cf the fettlers, and made fuch enquiries as I
thought necefTary, I fet out forMofcow with-
out returning to Twera, the diflance is one
hundred and feventeen miles; and I arrived
there the 20 th, pafling through a very finely
variegated, country, well watered and wood-
ed, and fpread in fine plains, with many vil-
lages fcattered through them, and much ap-
pearance of cultivation: all this country is ii%
the hands of three or four nobles, whofe ftew-
ards dire6t the management of it.
This city is the greateil in the empire ; it
ivas once firongly fortified for this part of the
world, but the fecurity of the prefent times
has made every thing unnecefiTary, except a
wall : It is about fixteen miles in circumfe-
rence, and contains about half a million of
inhabitants; till lately, the^Czars fpent a part
of the year here -, but the palace, which is
a very indifferent one, having, been damaged
by fire, they have not of late years been there^
but notwithftanding this, Mofcow is the re-
fidence of a vaft number of the nobility, in-
deed;, of three fourths of thofe, whofe offices
OF
t6o TRAVELS THROUGIt
or expedations do not oblige them to attend
the court; in which inflance, there is a greater'
appearance of Hberty , than in moft other coun-
tries ; for in general, all the nobility of a
kingdom flock to the feat of goverment.
Mofcow is very irregularly built -, but it is
jtbeautiful city, from the windings of the river,
and from many eminences which are covered
with groves of fine tall trees, and froril hu^
merous gardens, and la wns> which, opening
to the water, give it a moil pleafing airy ap*
pearance. I expeded to fee nothing, but wood-
en houfes, but was agreeably furprized at tha
light of many very fine fabricks of brick and
flone. It is beyond comparifon a finer city
than Peteriburg. The number of churches
and chapels, amounting, it is faid, to eighteen
hundred, make a great figure in the printed
defcriptions of this city; but from the appear-
ance of them, I fhould fuppofe the fa(5l falfe,
and that out of great numbers, very few are
worthy of note. I faw the great bell, which
is the larged in the world, and indeed a mod
ftupendous thing it is. They have many
other bells in the city, which much exceed
any thing, that is elfev/here to be met with;
the Ruffians being remarkably fond of this
ornament of their churches.
There
R U S S I A. i6i
There is a very confiderable manu failure at
Mofcow of various hemp fabricks ; particu-
larly, fail cloth and iheeting, which employs
fome thoufaiids of looms, and many thou-
sands of people ; the hemp is, moft of it,
brought from the Ukraine : there are alio great
numbers of confiderable merchants here, who
carry on a very extenfive commerce v/ith all
parts of the empire; for there is water car-
riage from hence to the Black and Cafpian
feas, and with but few interruptions to the
Baltick alfb, which are circumftances, that
make it the center of a very great commerce'.
This city is much better fituated for the
metropolis of the empire than Peterfburg: It
is almofl in the center of the mofl cultivated
parts of it; communicating, in the manner
above-mentioned, with the three inland feas,
not at a great diflance from the moft impor-
tant province of the empire, the Ukraine ; open
to the fbuthern territories on the Black fea,
and by means of the rivers Wolga and the
Don, commanding an inland navigation of
prodigious extent. Its vicinity alfo to the
countries, which mufl always be the feat of
any wars with the Turks, the enemies, moft
to be attended to of all thofe with whom the
Ruflians wage war; make it, upon the whole,
infinitely a better fituatioii for the feat of go-
VoL. Ill, M vemmenty
362 TRAVELS THROUGH
vernment, than that of Peterfburg, which is
at the very extremity of the empire, and
pofleffing few of thefe advantages. Found-
ing that city, and making it the feat of foreign
commerce and naval power, was an admira-
ble exertion of genius ! but the feat of govern-
ment fhould always have been at Mofcow.
The 23d I left that city, taking the road to-
wards the Ukraine: I was fortunate in having
very fine clear weather, and found the roads,
every where, exceedingly good, no autumnal
rains having yet fallen. I got that night to
.Molalky,the dlllance about fixty miles, nor did
1 find llich a day's journey, too much for the
horfes ; the country, all this way, is a level
plain, very fertile, and much of it well culti-
vated, with many villages, and, in general, a
well peopled territory: the peafants feemed
tolerably eafy, but fcarcely any of them have
flny property. From Molafky , fifty hx miles
carried iiie the next day to Arcroily, a fmall
town, fituated in a territory iiot ibwell peopled
as the preceding; the villages thinner, and but
little of the foil cultivated, being covered with
much timbcrofgreatiize and beauty. The 25th
rreachedDemetriovitz,at the diftance of more
than fifty miles, every ftep of which was aero fs a
forcfl:, in which I faw not the leaft veftigc of any
habitation ; the road was not difficult to find,
even
RUSSIA. 163
even if I had not had a guide, but it is not
much frequented; the mercantile people mak-
ing this part of the journey to the Ukraine by
water : This immenfe track of wild country, is
part open meadow and part covered with tim-
ber, which would in England be thought a
glorious light : the foil is all a fine fand, and, if
I may judge from the Ipontaneous vegetation,
a mofl fertile loam ; fo that nothing is want-
ing, but an induftrious population : but with-
out that, the whole territory is of little worth.
I baited the horfes in the middle of the foreft,
and refrefhed myfelf and company, much
admiring the uncommon extent of country,
that was v/ithout the leaft appearance of being
inhabited : I apprehended, that the country
muft have great refemblance of the bound-
lefs plains and woods of Louifiana.
The 26th, I rode forty miles through an
uninhabited plain to Sereniky ; no timber in
it, but all one level fertile meadow. I iaw
Ibme herds of cattle feeding, as if wild, but
the land was not a tenth part flocked ; for the
grafs, if we turned out of the road, w^as up al-
mofl to the bellies of the horfes ; fuch mea-
dow would, I apprehend, in any part of Eng-
land, let readily for five and twenty fhillings
an acre, yet here of no value : fuch are the
elfeds of population, liberty, and induflry!
M 2 The
t64 travels through
The fame dlftance the 27th carried me to
Brenlky a pretty little town on the banks of
a river, ni the niiddle of. a foreft; a place,
truly romantic. 1 felt myfelf rather fatigued
with hard riding, fmce I left Peterfburg, and
therefore refted mylelf here, the 28th, left a
continuance of this great exercife (hould give
me a fit of illnefs, for which Ruflia is the
moft unfk place m the world; for every man,
out of P££erlburg and Mofcow, muft be his
own phylician.
The 2^9th, I got to StaradofF, at tlie diftance
©f fifty miles : full twenty of which, are
ghrough- a rich and pleafant country, much of
it very well cultivated; they were getting in
part of their harveft : they cultivate all the
•gFai-n and pulfe^ common in England ; and
from what I faw, I have little doubt, but their
hivib^ndry ia extremely good. They generally
manage their lands in the fyftem of fowing
firft, hemp, then oats, then turneps, then
wheat or rye, but much of the former is fown :
after thishufbandry of fiveycars, which islbme-
•tlmcs varied to lix or feven, two crops of hemp
4>eing taken, they leave the land fallow for three
four, or hve years; by fallow, is not however
meant, ploughing it all that time, but lettingit
run to grafs and, weeds: it is prcfently covcr-
■^(\ thickly; the iccond year, all the weeds
uifappear.
R U^ S- S I A. 165
difappear, and they have a very iirie meadow,
without the trouble of fowii-ig any hay feeds,
which they keep, as the feedinggrouiid of their
farms for feveral years, as their cattle require;
and whenever they plough it up again, they are
fure to find a field, entirely fertilized and rea-
dy to yield abundant crops. I ftiould h^vo ap-
prehended, that this management would have
filled the land with the i^eds of weeds, which,
ypon breaking it up,- would have deflroyed
their Crop; but an agent-, that ieemed to belong
£0 fomemanofalargeeftate, anfwered me by
faying, that the fird crop, they fowed, being
hemp, entirely cleaned the ground for all the
fucceflive oiies; that in cafe the efFe£l was not
perfeded, a-fecond would infallibly doit; for
i found, they had an idea here, that hemp is
a great cleaner of the i-aiwl, and that no weeds
can live among it ; which is, what I do not re-
eolleft, any writer of hufbandry mentions,
as being the pradlice of Engliih farmers. It
is one inftance, among mtany others, I have
met with^ in which 1 regret, not making
Hiyfelf better acquainted with the hufbandry
of England, before I made enquiries into
that of other countries'. • The quantity of
hemp, fown in all this country is very confi-
derable; indeed 1 was told, that this province,
which joins a part of the Ukraine in lome
M 3 pkc.s,
i66 TRAVELS" THROUGH
places, ;s much like that country, only the
foil not quite fo fine. The land here is a rich
loam , wet, and much inclinable to a clay. They
reckon an acre of hemp, one year -with ano-.
ther, to be worth three pounds ; an acre of
wheat yields three quarters, and as much of
rye; four quarters of barley, and as much or
more of oats. They have fine crops of beans,
about five quarters upon an acre. They do
not cultivate fo many turneps as they fhould,
but trufl many of their cattle all winter long
on thewafle, where they find herbage enough,
iiotwithftandingthe fnow, to keep them alive:
but it would certainly be much better huiban-
dry to keep them better, and colle6l their dung.
They have large herds, which in fummer are
kept in fine order, by means of the exceeding
goodpaflurage, which all themeadowsyield in
vaft plenty. All this country belongs to different
noblemen, and is cultivated by their flew*
ards and agents, who fecm to know their
bufinefs very well ; but the peafants feem to
be very poor, having fcarcely any figns of
cultivation around their cottages, and. yet
they are fed by what they raife for themfelves
on certain days. I remark, that the peafants
In this empire, are in general happy, in pro-
portion to the negledl under which the coun-
try lies ; in the midfl of vafl wafles and fo-
rces
R U S S I A. ' 167
refts they {eem to be tolerably eafy ; but any
tracks well cultivated, are done at their ex^
pence, and they appear very near on the fame
rank, as the blacks in our fugar colonies.
From StaradofFto Czernicheu, is feventy-
five miles, which I rode in two days, arriving
there the ift of November. Part of this track
is as well cultivated, as that on the other fide of
StaradofF, but much of it is covered with fo-
reft.- I obferved hemp in many of the fields,
and fome of it was not yet pulled, though
the harveft is generally in. Czernicheu is a
very well built town, finely fituated on the
banks of the river Defna, which is navigable
for barges of fifty tons, is very well fortified,
and inhabited by about fifteen thoufand peo-
pfe many of whom carry on a confiderable
trade with Kiovia, and, by the Nieper, with
Poland. All the track of country, which
lies upon the river Defna, is very rich, and
vi^ell cultivated. Many of the inhabitants of
Czeirnicheu are Coflack Tartars; but a traveller
has no more realbn to fear them, than the
inhabitants of any other part of Ruffia ; for
the government, although milder in the
Ukraine, and the neighbouring provinces,'-
ffom having been conquered from Po-
land, is yet the fame, and the police as flrid
■ '■ M 4 'as
,6S TRAVELS T H Jl O U G H
as ill ?aiy other part of the empire. I mado
enquiries here concerning the danger of tra^
veUing through the Ukraine in this time of
war ; and they affured me, that whether it
was war or peace, I ihould not fee the leaft
appearance of any danger ; that I ihould find
the Ukraine, tho' inhabited by Tartars, as
w^eilregulatedaprovince, as any county in Eng-f
land. They faid, there had been no incur-
fions made into any of thefe provinces, as the
theatre of the war was pufhed on to the coun-
tries around the Black fea, and where they
doubted not but it would continue.
November the 3d, I reached Kiovia, tho
capital of the Ukraine, ^nd fourfcore miles
from Czernichfeu, The road leads on the
banks of the Defna, through a beautiful coun-
try; great part of it being well peopled and
cultivated. It is inhabited by Tartarian de-»
fcendants; but I found the prefent CalTocks,
who have very little ideaqf hufbandry, come
far from the eaftward, from countries, that
reach to the river Don, at the diftance of
above a thoufand miles from hence. The-
prefent race of the; Ukraine are a civilized
people, and the befl hufbandmen in the Ruf-
jian empire.
Kiovia, one of themoftconfiderable cities I
have (ecn in Ruflia, is a place, well known in
the
RUSSIA. ,169
the hiflory of that empire ; for tho' it has been
fubje6tto many revolutions, which: reduced it
to a low ftate, compared with its former gran*»
jdeur, yet it has now recovered all thofe an^
tient blows; it is well built of brick and flone;
the ftreets are wide and ftrajt, and well paved ;
it has a very noble cathedral, much of it lately
rebuilt and eleven other churches. It has
forty thoufand inhabitants ; and is flrongly
fortified. The Nieper is here a noble river^
gnd feveral larger rivers falling into it, aftet
wafhing fome of the richeft provinces of Po*
land, enable this town to carry on a very con-
iiderable commerce. It is the grand maga-*
zine of all the commodities of the Ukraine,
particularly hemp and flax, which, in this fine
province, are raifed in greater quantities, and
of a better <^uality, than in any other part
of Europe. The Ukraine is the richeft pro-
vince in the Ruffian empire. Part of it for-
merly was a province of Poland, and the reft
an independent fovereignty, under a Tartar
prince; but the v/hole is now a mere province
©f Ruffia, and much the richeft acquifition,
that crown has made. It is upon an average,
two hundred and fifty miles long, eaft to weft ;
and one hundred and forty broad, north to
fcuth,
November
170 TRAVELS THROUGH
November 5 th, I left the capital of this pro*
vince; and as I purpofed making a circular de-
tour of the weflern part, I went to Buda that
day, which is about fifty miles ; moft of the
country rich and very well cultivated; the foil
is a black loam, and they raife in it the various
forts of grain and pulfe, that are commonly met
with in England. I pafled through great
tracks of ftubble ground, from off which the
wheat, barley, and oats were carried. And
1 obferved numerous hemp grounds, though
not fo much of the country is under that crop,
as corn ; in fome villages, where I made en-
quiries, they fpoke nothing but the Polifh
language, and of a dialed:, which my inter-
preter, the Ruffian, knew nothing of, though
he had afiured me, he underflood Polifli very
well; but I met with other peafants, who
Ipoke Ruffian, and they informed me, that their
products ef hemp arofe in value fometimes to
fix pounds an acre, but three or four pounds
were a common crop ; of wheat, four quarters ;
barley, five, and oats and beans fix, and fome-
times more an acre ; which appeared to me
to be all very confidcrablc quantities. Their
grounds arc moll of them inclofod with ditch-
es, to fome of which are hedges, but not to all.
They have fine meadow grounds, which they-
convert to hemp, in the manner I related a~
bove.
H U S S I A. -* lyi
bove, but leave them under grais for ten or
twelve years, before they break, them up;
and keep them in a tillage management, as
long : upon Ibme grounds, they have three
crops of hemp, running. Flax they alfo cul-
tivate, but they do not reckon it fo profitable
as hemp. In the management of their cattle^
they are very good farmers : they have large
ftocks, and they, houfe them all, whenever
the fnow is above four, inches deep upon the
grounds they litter them down iWell with
ftraw, and feed them with hay or turneps :
cows are their principal ftock ; and they fell
immenfe quantities of butter and cheeie,
though it is extremely remarkable, that, not
many ye.ars ago, they knew not what butter
was. The property of all this country is very
much divided; here are very few great eftates
belonging to nobility :,the old inhabitants of
the country were very free, and had a great
equality among them; and this, in pofleffions,
as well as other circumftances ; and fortu-
nately, this continues, though in fubje^liori
to Ruflia; mod of the peafants are little far-
mers, ,whofe farms, are their own,- with ten
times the liberty among them, that I any
where elfe faw in Ruffia ; the government
are extremely cautious- of oppreffing or offend-
ing them, for they never, will be in want of
folicitations
172 TRAVELS THROUGH
Iblicitations from the Turks to join the Tar-
tars in alliance with the Porte. They pay a,
coniiderable tribute, but raiie it among them-
felves according to their own cuftoms ; and
they alfo furnifli the Ruffian armies with a
great many very faithful troops. Thefe points,
with the immenfe value of the trade the Ruf-
fians carry on by means of their products,
hemp and flax in particular, render the pro-
vince of the firft importance. I pafled, in this
line of fifty miles, great numbers of villages
and fcattered farms.
Buda is a little town, or rather a large vil-
lage, prettily fituated, between two rivers in a
country^' perfectly pleafant. I turned off to
the north-wefl:, and got the 6th to Kordyne,
a little town, fifty two miles from Buda; All
this country is equal to the preceding day's
journey ; I never faw a track of land, that
had more refemblance to the befl parts of Eng-
land. Nothing could be more fortunate, than
the weather for my expedition; the rains ufuw
ally come very heavy the middle of Septem-
ber, and foon after them, frofls and fnow, but
I have ytt had a confl:ant azure Iky, with
warm winds. If it holds five days more, 1
ihall have paiTed this province, and i do not
hear, that there is any thing worthy of notice
between the Ukraine and Feterfburg, there-
for'"
R U S SI A. 173
fore the weather will not be fo eiTeiitial to the
journey, I remarked, in the country I paiTed
to day, feveral tobacco plantations; they re-
femblehopgrounds, when the hillocks are not
poled; they reckon it as profitable, as hemp,
which is owing, I believe, to the ready vent,
they find, for all they cultivate; the Tartars
upon the Black fea, and the Kalmucks buy
large quantities; and they are not fo nice in
the feparation of the forts, as our planters
in Virginia are obliged to be, though they fell
their produ6l for as good a price ; but I do not
think there grows the lefs hemp, on account of
their tobacco ; it feems to be cultivated, in-
ftead of fowing quite fo much corn as in other
parts; an acre of tobacco is worth five pounds
in a good year. They have large houfes,
highly run up for drying it. They think, the
laud cannot be too rich either for hemp or
tobacco, and acccordingly plant them on freih
land.
The 7th, I reached Lefzo:2:yn, at the dif-
tance of fix and thirty miles, the countf-y
continuing the fame ; much hemp and to^
bacco being planted through the whole: At a
village, by the way, where I flopped to make
enquiries, I found they preferred^ a red day
for their hemp;, and planted all the black
mould with tobacco. I obferved many ploughs
174 TRAVELS THROUGH
at work, fome with fix horfes, of a little weak
breed, but in general, each was drawn by four
ftout oxen. They were turning up wheat
ftubbles, and faid, they ploughed them before
winter, that the frofts and fnow might improve
the ground, which feems to be good manage-
ment. I think, I never faw fuch deep plough-
ing, as thefe peafants give their ground : I mea-
fured nine inches perpendicular after a plough
drawn by four oxen ; what the depth is in
England, I never noticed particularly, but be-
lieve it is not fo much as this. Their ploughs
are very well conf1:ru6led ; if I may judge by
their entirely turning over the land, they are all
of iron, having no wood about them; a fort I
had never feen till I came into the Ukraine; nor
have they any wheels which our plough-
wrights in England, think fo eflential. I re-
marked here feveral very noble crops of cab-
bages, and in fuch vaft quantities, that I con-
cluded, they muft feed their cattle with them,
and was right in the conjecture : they ufed
formerly, to cultivate only the Swedifh turnep
for this purpofe, but cabbages (they are a red
fort, and come to a monftrous fize, 25 or 3olb.
forinftance) by degrees, have come into falhlon
among them, fo as to be the crop, on which
they entirely depend, with help of hay for
the winter fuftenance of their cattle. They
fow
RUSSIA. 175
ibwthe feed early in the fpring,and plant them
when of a proper fize, into the fields in rows,
and afterwards keep them as clean as they do
their tobacco, by conftant hoeing : an acre
of them will winter four or five large oxen ;
they reckon the culture extremely profitable.
They have alfo whole fields of potatoes, ibme
for their own ufe, and fome for fale, there
being a great demand for them at Ockzacow,
on the Black fea, whither they are fent by
water; but I cannot help thinking they muft
have a fort unknown in England : I rode into
a field where a crop was taking up, and great
numbers were as large, as the body of a quart
bottle ; I never faw fuch before. They freely
gave me a few of thefe large ones to take away
for feed ; they are planted by flices in the
fame manner, as ours : the peafants here
think, that lands of moderate fertility do for
them. Such a potatoe, I {hould apprehend,
might, for feeding cattle, be made of very
great advantage to the hufbandry of England ;
they yield from twelve to fifteen hundred
bufhels per acre.
The 8th, I rode to Kwalbwa, a large
village, the diilance about forty miles.
This country, is, in fome places, a conti-
nued level plain ; in others, it is variegated
with gentle hills, which never rife into
mouu-
176 TRAVELS THROUGH
rnountains, but are cultivated to the tops.
jHemp and tobacco are common crops thro*
the whole, and alfo fome flax, but not in
equal quantities. All the country is divided
into fmall eftates, or rather farms, cultivated
by the owners ; though I am told, that in fome
parts of the province to the fouth, where I
have not been, there are large eftates belong-
ing to the nobles, and that thofe parts are not
near fb well peopled or cultivated, as thefe
parts; which is a flrong proof, that much of
the good hufbandry met with in the Ukraine,
is owing to the peafants, being owners of tlieir
iands, and vaflalage, almofl unknown in the
province. It cannot be doubted, but the Em-
prefs may bring the crown lands of Ruflia,
on all the frontier of Poland, into asflourifhing
a ftate, as any parts of this province, if fhe
'encourages foreign fettlers with all the Ipirit,
Ihe has hitherto (hewn, fnice it is in her
power to give them all the advantages, which
the inhabitants of the Ukraine enjoy. They
,liave, it is true, a noble country, equal, I
think, in foil, &c. to Flanders, and almoft as
well cultivated; but I have feen, in other pro-
vinces of this empire, immenfe wafte tracks of
land, not at all inferior in every thing, derived
from nature; but enflavcd pealants are utterly
inconftftcnt with a flourifliing hufbandry.
'The
RUSSIA, 177
The 9th I got to Norodiza, the diftance
forty miles : the foil, in this track, is inferior
to what I have pafTed, but the people appear ,
to be excellent hufbandmen : they have fome
hemp, but little tobacco, only a plantation
here and there. I palTed thro' feveral villages
which have been lately built by fugitive Poles,
who had fixed themfelves here on fome fmall
waftes, by leave of the government, but with-
out any expence. The loth I had a very
hard day's journey to Belechoka, the diftance
more than fixty miles, and the road in fome
places marlliy. Some parts of this track are
well cultivated, but no hemp, flax, or to-
bacco are raifed j there are alfo ibme waftes,
but they will not be fuch long, for the Poles
are planting themfelves on them very faft.
Here I paffed out of the province of Ukraine.
It is this territory which raifes nine tenths
of the hemp and flax which we import at fuch
a vaft expence from Ruflia -, it is therefore
deferving of a little attention ; for the bell
politicians, who have given moft attention to
the affairs of our American colonies, have all
of them infifted very ftrenuoufly upon the
pofllbility, and even eafe of fupplying our-
felves totally from thence. What truth there
is in this I know not; but it will be of u/e
to confider this province of the Ukraine with
Vol. III. N more
178 TRAVELS THROUGH
more attention thart any writer has hithertrc?
done, bccaufe, from knowing it perfedly, wc
may judge how far we can reafon by ana-
logy, when America is fpoken of; and this h
the more necefTary, as the accounts which
havehithertobeenpublifhedofit areflrangely
tontradiftory; for, on one hand, they tell us
truly that the RulTian hemp comes from
thence ; but on the other, they give fuch a
pitlure of the flate of the country, that one
would fuppofe it, poffefTed by herds of wan-
dering Cofiacks, which is utterly inconfiftent
with the idea of fuch a fbate of agriculture, as
is necelTary for making fo great a proficiency
in the culture of hemp and flax. All thefe
accounts muft have been copied one from
another, and the firft of them, at leaft, a cen-
tury and half old. To be convinced of which
let any perfon look into the account of the
Ukraine, in that very judicious collection of
voyages and travels, entitled Harris's, there
he will meet with mention, indeed, of the
great fertility of the country, but three-
fourths of the particulars given are relative to
its wandering Tartar inhabitants, and the
words hemp or flax, never once ufed ; and a
defcription of the people given, that would
be utterly inconfiftent with fuch agriculture;
jukI this is the cafe with all the books that I
have
RUSSIA. 179
turned to^ but the reafon muft be, the
country's being fo extremely out of the way of
all travellers, that not a perfon, in a century
goes to it, who takes notes of his obfervations
with intention to lay them before the world :
very few fuch go even to Peteriburgh ; now
and then one crofTes Ruffia towards Perfia,
but all keep a thoufand or two of miles from
the Ukraine; and hence it is, that thegreatefl
changes happen in fuch remote parts of the
world, without any thing of the matter being
known. And our writers of geography, who
are every day publifhing, copy each other
in fo lavifh a manner> that a fa6l in 1578 is
handed down to us as the only information
we can have in 1766 ; a circumftance, which
reigns in all the books of general geography
that I have fetn. Let me here add, that I
have, in travelling to gain information, vilited
thofe countries, about which it would be in
vain to confult books 3 for, Holland and
Flanders alone excepted, all the reft of the
-prefent journey is through countries, the for-
mer accounts of which are entirely falfe, not
from errors in the authors, but from great
changes that have happened in a long courfe
of years. But to return.
It has been fuppofed, that hemp and flax,
coming to us from fo northern a place as Pe-
N 2 terfburg,
j8o travels through
terfburg, would grow in the midll of perpetual
frofts and fnows ; but though we import it
from latitude 60, yet it all grows in the
Ukraine, which lies between kt. 47 and 52,
and is befides as fine, mild a climate, as any
in Europe: this is the latitude of the fouth
©f France; and with tbefe advantages the foil
is fuperior to moft I have feen,. being, in gene-
ral, a very rich, deep mould, between a loam
and a dry clay, but without any of that tena-
cious ftickinefs,. which is fo difagreeable in
moving through a clay country in England,
I am clear in the importance of conveying a
precife idea, when we fpeak of foils ; but
not having been ufed to pra6lical hufbandry
fo much, as I wifh I had, I cannot properly
make ufe of the neceffary technical terms.
To thefe advantages, which this province en-
joys, I (liould certainly add, whether from
accident or natural ingenuity,, their good
hufbandry, which is much fuperior to any
thing, that I have feen, fmce I left Flanders,
After giving thefe particulars, we may ex-
amine, upon a goodfoundation, the capability
of our colonies, affording hemp and flax in
equal quantities. Thofe gentlemen who have
travelled through them, bell know how weH
they anfwer to the above defcription : but if I
may be permitted to fpeak on the authorities
which
RUSSIA. i8e
which many modern reiations give us, the
fettlements on the fea-coafts of North- Ame-
rica will never yield hemp in any quantities!
the climate is much too changeable and fe-
vere ; fharp cutting frofts are met with in
Carolina, in 30 degrees of latitude, and a
burning fun, equal in heat to any part of the
world : in New England, Nova Scotia, &c.
where hemp has been attempted, it has al-
ways failed, from the feverity of the climate,
and the badnefs of the lands. But all accounts
give a very contrary defcription of the coun-
tries on the Miffifippi : from the defcriptions
which I have read of the track on that river,
from lat. 33 to lat. 40, 1 Ihould apprehend it
to be, of all other places in America, the moffc
adapted to this culture : for the foil is rich,
black, and very deep; the climate much more
regular and pleafant than on the fea-coafl,
which is all marfhes and fwamps, and the
lands in immenfe plenty, and all frefh.
Hemp certainly might be raifed in thofe parts
to great advantage, provided the defcriptions
of them, which we have had> are jufi: ^ which
I do not fee any reafon to doubt. But then
the misfortune is, that thefe beautiful tracks
of country arewithout inhabitants j andgreat
numbers of people are necelTary for an advan-
tageous culture of henap. Another circun^r
. N 3 fiance
jg2 TRAVELS THROUGH
ftance to be confidered is, the profit of fuch
an application of the land: hemp would never
be cultivated to any purpofe in Carolina, or
our fouthern colonies, if the climate was pro-!
per, becaufe rice and indico, and I believe,
even cotton, pay the planter, much fuperior
profits; and if indico and cotton were intro-
duced on the Millifippi, as, in all probability
they would be, hemp would be negleded till
thofe markets failed which took off the more
beneficial articles. But, on the other hand,
we ought not to regret this, for the national
profit is proportionably (greater : the more
the planter's advantage, the more the national
income is increafed. Hemp, in fadl, is not
an article of culture, that is comparable to
many others in profit, and will confequently
never be cultivated, except in thofe countries
where corn and pulfe, and other lefs profita-
ble articles, would occupy the land, if that
did not j but when the foil and climate will
do for richer commodities, it is idle to fup-
pofe, that poorer ones will be attended to.
If, therefore, it is an efiential point to raife
all the hemp in our colonies, which we bring
from Rufiia, new plantations mufl be formed
on the Miflifippi, in a latitude, that will not
do for the rich American fiables ; fuch for
inftance, as that of 37 to 40, or thereabouts.
The
H U S S I A. 183
The country, fo included, is one of the fineffc
in the world for all common hufbandry -, fo
that the inhabitants, like thofe of the Ukraine,
would very eafily raife all the neceifaries of
life, at the fame time, that their principal
attention was given to hemp as their jftapje.
C H A P. VI.
Journey to Peterjhurg through the Frontiers oj
Poland — Ohfervat'wns on the State of fever al
Provinces — R ujjian Acquijitions — R em arks
on the War between the RuJJians and the
^ Turks— Journey to Archangel, and through
Lapland — Return to Peterjhufg — Ltivonia,
NOVEMBER the i ith, I left Belechoka,
and rode to Rzeezyka, at the diftance
of forty- four miles through a country very
different from the Ukraine; for it confifls of
little befides marflies, with but few inhabi-
tants. It is to be noted, that mofi: of this
track is in Poland, and Rzeezyka is the
capital of a province, once Polifli, and
which, all the maps I have, lay down as a part
of Poland; but I am convinced, there have
been ftrange changes v^rought by force of
Ruffian arms on the frontiers of that king-
dom. The town is large, populous,- and
N 4 ilrongly
284 TRAVELS THROUGH
ftrongly fortified; but as much Ruffian, as
Mofcow. Here are great numbers of Poles,
it is true -, but all the houfes, which the war
had emptied, are filled up carefully with Ruf-
fian families; and there is a Ruffian garrifon,
Ruflian government, and, in a word, fcarcely
any thing Polifh in it. By this extreme poli-
tical conduct, that empire makes very great
acquifitions on the fide of Poland, without
the world knowing any thing of the mattery
which is the effect of the miferable govern-
ment, or rather anarchy, under which they
live; and which is the pretence for the Ruf-
fian troops, fwarming over the whole king-
dom ; fo that three parts in four of it are
a province of Ruflia, and probably, the
whole will in a little time, which may
be more adv.mtageous to the kingdom j
for no depotifm of the Eafl is fo great a curfe
to a people, as the furious military anarchy,
that reigns at prefent in Poland. I have re-
ceived accounts from various people, fmce I
have been in Ruflia, from which I fhould
apprehend, that full half the inhabitants of
that great country, have been cut off and
flarved within thefe ten years. Near half the
kingdom is abfolutely in the hands of the
Ruffians, who receive pretty heavy taxes from
it, and alfo recruits for their army againft
the
R U S S I A; 12$
the Turks : vaft numbers of people are, by
this means, alfo tranfported into RufTia ; for
Polifli noblemen, who declare againft the
Ruffian party, are driven entirely from their
cftates, and great numbers of their peafants
removed immediately into Ruffia, with their
cattle and all their effedls ; fo that the Em-
prefs may ealily have increafed her fubje6ls in
the degree, which I was told, at Peterfburg.
And it certainly muft be allowed, that the
cards fhe plaj'^s in this manner, enfure her a
game uncommonly advantageous. The poor
Poles, driven about, andreducedtothe utmoft
mifery by their own people, muft be very
ready to fix upon lands in Ruffia, and be
vaffals only to the Emprefs. If this fcene of
confufion therefore lafls much longer in Po-
land, that kingdom will be entirely depopu-
lated, and the Ruffian provinces filled with
people; an event, filently taking place, and
which will increafe this formidable power
more, than half a dozen vidtories over the
Turks.
From Rzeezyka, I followed the courfe of
the Nieper to Rohakzow, where I arrived
the 1 2th ; the diflance more than fifty miles.
The country is an open level plain, of fine
meadow. I faw numerous villages deferted;
and the fields, formerly arable, become paf-
ture.
7^6 TRAVELS THUOUGH
ture, but without cattle to graze them : all
the inhabitants were moved into Ruflia.
That town is the capital of a large province,
the whole of which is in the hands of the
Ruffians, who have three ftrong fortrefTes in
it, well garrifoned. Rohakzow is a fine
town, beautifully lituated on the Nieper, on
which its prefent mafters carry on a confider-
able commerce. I much fufpe6l, from the
fortifications raifedhere by the Ruffians, whe-
ther the town or province will ever be more in
the hands of the Poles. I was informed here,
that much the greateft part of the province of,
Minfki, one of the moft confiderable in Li-
thuania, is entirely quiet, and in the abfolute
power of the Ruffians j and where it will end,
time can only know ; but the prefent ilate of
affairs in all this part of the world, looks on
every fide, only in favour of the Ruffians ^ and
it is certainly a moil ftrange infatuation, that
the other powers of Europe fhould be mere
ftanders'by, and look on to this great fuccefs
of the Ruffians, without thinking it their in-
tereft to interfere. Auftria and Pruffia are
armed, it is true ; but the progrefs of this
empire is of a kind, which admits not open
declaration from any, but the Poles. I have
heard it mentioned, as a mark of very laga-
cious politicks in the Turks, that the real
reafon
R U S S I Av 187
reafon of the prefent war with Ruffia is from
a jealoufy of the Mufcovite power, being too
much increafed by the advantages taken of
the troubles in Poland. The Porte thought
there was danger of the Emprefs taking pof-
feffion of the whole kingdom of Poland in
her own name j and judged that the beft way
©f preventing fuch a great accefsion to her
power, was by the fword, cutting her out
work el fe where.
From Rohakzow, I reached Rychow, the
13th, the diftance more than forty miles.
All this country is very rich, and part of it
very well cultivated, but it is in the hands of
the Rufsians entirely; many of the peafants
are of that nation, and every thing feen, is a
proof, that this empire has much enlarged its
bounds, without either a formal war, or even
the authority of a treaty. This place is in
the province of Miflau, a very fine and fertile
country, an hundred miles long, and as many
broad, and all in the hands of the Ruffians.
The foil here is chiefly a reeddifhloam; much
of it is in culture, as was evident, from the
large tracks of ftubble I went through; but I
faw no hemp, flax, or tobacco, thofe produ6ls
being pretty much confined to the Ukraine.
Rychow, with fome neighbouring towns, be-
long to a Polifh nobleman, driven away by
the
iU TRAVELS THROUGH
the Ruffians, who have feized his whole eflate:
and taken poflefTion of it in a manner, that
precludes the idea of his ever returning.
From this place, I rode about forty miles to
Kudzin, through the fame province. All this
line of country, I could fee, had been in ge-
neral under culture, but it was now entirely
walle. I counted the remains of no lefs than
leven villages, which were entirely deferted,
all the inhabitants being fled to Ruffia.
From Kudzin, the fame diftance brought me
on the 1 5th, to Krula, another little town,
with a Ruffian garrifon. The country is
partly cultivated, and partly deferted j bu t
the remaining inhabitants will not be left
here long; for I faw a Ruffian commandant,
whofe bufinefs was, the taking an account of
the people of feveral adjacent villages that had
petitioned for lands in Rufsia. Thefe emi-
grations are not at all furprifing: in time of
peace, the Polilli nobles treat all the peafants
as flaves in the utmofl extent of the word :
when, therefore, a fcene of trouble andconfu-
fion comes, they are fure to take the iirfl: op-
portunity to defert, that they may efcape in
future the renewal of their former mifery j
and the condition of the new fettlers in Rufsia
is fo infinitely fuperior to that of the peafants
in Poland, that nothing can exceed the cager-
RUSSIA. 1^9
nefs With which they all fly from the fcene of
their flavery the moment their mafters are
driven away. Thefe are the efFeds of that
tyranny, which all the Polifh nobility exert
upon their valTalsi fo that in cafe the Ruf-
fians fhould reftore thefe numerous provinces,
the Poles will return to deferts, inilead of
well-peopled eftates.
The 1 6th, I got to Obloka; the diftance
forty-fix miles 5 flill in the province of Mif-
lau. All this track is a fine rich country,
but very poorly peopled, many villages being
deferted. I pafTed a very large feat, belong-
ing to a Polifh nobleman, in ruins. Whoever
declares againfl the Ruflian party, are fure
to have their eflates laid wafle, ^d many of
their peafants carried oiF; and in the pro-
vinces which lie near to the frontiers of that
empire, they are driven away, and every
thing feized by the enemy. There are not
many finer countries, than great part of this
province, but it is in a defolate flate. I have
met with no parties of Poles, nor any appear-
ance of war : the Emprefs has a quiet and
cfFeclual polTeffion of much the greater part
of Lithuania; and fuch parts are the only
ones in the kingdom that enjoy any repofe.
The 17th I reached Witepfki, the capital
town of a large province, alfo in the hands of
the
1^0 TtlAVELS THROUGii
the Ruffians. The country is very wood/*
In fifty miles, which were this day's journey*
near thirty were through a continual foreft;
the reft is tolerably well cultivated, and peo*
pled; it is in poiTeffion of fome Poles, who
fecuredthemfelves from the beginning by de-
claring for the Ruffian caufe. They culti^
vate their own eftates by means of their vaf*-
fals, who have fmall cottages, with little plots
of ground round them, in which they raife
what is neceffary for the fubfiftence of them-
felves and their families in three days of the
week, which are allowed them, and the reft
of the time they work for theii' lord, under
the direction of overfeers. One of thefe no-
blemen cuhivates in this manner above fix
ihoufand acres of land 5 his eftate contains
about twenty thoufand acres, but much of it
is marih and foreft. This is a reprefentation
of all the eftates in Poland in time of peace.
The owners of them, however fmall, are all
Polifti gentlemen, and entirely equal ; but
the numerous diftra6lions they have had from
the beginning of their monarchy, have confo-
lidated moft of the fmall properties, fo that
at prefent the kingdom is generally divided
into large eftates. Every owner cultivates
his land by means of the peafants on it, who
belong to him as much as the trees which
grow
R tJ S S I A. 192
grow on the foil ; thus the Poles are the greateft
farmers in the worId,forfome of their princes
pofTefs whole provinces, containing feveral
hundred thoufand acres of land; and all their
revenue, which is very conliderable, is raifed
by this cultivation. The principle value of
eftates is the vicinity to a navigable river; for
without this advantage they have not a vent
for the immenfe quantity of corn which they
raife. The ilubbles I faw upon the eflate,
juft now mentioned, were of all the common
forts, and very exteniive, wheat, barley, oats,
peafe, beans, buck-wheat. I faw a few tur-
neps, but the quantity did not feem to be
any thing proportioned to the extent of corn.
In the night of the 17th the weather chan-
ged, which had hitherto favoured me fo re-
markably ; very heavy rains fell with fleet
and fnow,. and continued fo bad the next day,
that I ftaid at Witepfki that day and the two
following ones, in expe6lation of a froft fet-
ting in ; for they told me, I fhould find the
roads much worfeand more liable to be dama-
ged than thofe I had pafled. I ftaid till the
2ojh, a very fliarp froft having fet in for four
and twenty hours. The 2ift I reached Goref-
law, through fifty miles of foreft; the zzdl
got to Sitefki, the diftance forty-three miles;
the ground hard frozen and very good tra-
velling.
192 TRAVELS THROUGH
veiling, but the frofl continues and the wea-
ther is (harp^ this line of country, like the
laft, is foreft. The 23d, I reached Willifluki,
which is in the boundary of Ruflia; but going
from one country to the other makes no per-
ceptible difference in the people, manners, or
language; which is a circumftancc, that
threatens the Poles not a little. I pafTed
through another country of emigrants from
that kingdom, who are feated on an eftate of
the Emprefs's, which came to her not long
iince by forfeiture ; it contains about four
and twenty thoufand aci-es of land, and did
not yield the late owner more than {Qven.
hundred pounds a year; but the Czarina will
prefently make it twice as many thoufands,
for there is the fineft timber for mafls on it
that is to be found in all the country ; and
file is making a fmall ftream, that leads to
the I wanna, navigable ; the expence will be
but little, and file will carry her timber then
to Peterfburg by water, which will prove a
mofl important acquifition. The Polifh fet-
tlement contains three hundred and forty
farms, each a family ; they had exadtly the
fame terms, as thofe I gave an account of be-
fore. They are feated in a plain, thinly fcat-
tered with trees, which they have cleared
away : the foil, I was informed, for I could
not
1. . R tJ' S S I A, rgrj
fiot Ctt it, is very deep and rich : they hate
each fifty, abres divided by the Emprefs; and
they have made many interior diviiions. I was
told that in Poland there are fcarcely any in-
clofures-, but the Emprefs takes care, that all
the newly cultivated tracks in her dominions
fhall be inclofed, being informed, that they
were the principal caufes, which havefo much
advanced the hufbandry of England ; and it
is remarkable, that the Poles fall very readily
into it, and divide their fifty acres into feve-
ral fields, as if they perfedily well underftood
the importance of the Gondu61:. They culti-
vate wheat, rye, oats, peafe, beans, and buck-
wheat ; and have many crops of Swedifh
turneps for the winter fupport of their cat-
tle : tiiey get two quarters of wheat and rye
from an acre, but fometimes lefs ; three of
oats } and four of beans : and they reckon,
that an acre of turneps will winter two cows*
The cutting a canal for the conveyance of
the timber to Peterfburg, will be of prodigi-
ous advantage to this colony ^ for their pro-
dudls will find thefame way to a moft advanta-
geous market. All thefe people are perfe<^ly
happy and contented; they are not deceived;
on the contrary, they find their fituation to th^
full as good as they were made to exp£6t| sad
^OL.. III. O they
194. TRAVELS THROUGH
they all fpeak of the Emprefs in the higheft
terms of admiration and gratitude.
This fyflem of peopling her dominions is
certainly the greateft exertion of politicks that
ihe could poflibly have fhewn : other princes
have been w^illing to increafe the number of
their fubjedts, by affording a refuge to emi-
grants in their dominions, but nothing elfe;
whereas the Emprefs is at a confiderable ex-
pence in planting them in her's ; ihe fpares
no coft to make the number as great as pof-
fible ; although, from the cheapnefs of the
country, it is done, comparatively fpeaking,
at airnall expence, yet when fuch numbers, as
ihe has thus received and fettled, are taken into
the account, the fum of money, annually ex-
pended in this truly noble way, will be found
by no means fmall.
The 24th, I reached Opolzko, the diftance
above forty miles ; part of the country is
forefl, and part of it a level plain, or ex-
tended meadow, which did not feem to be
marfhy. I paffed feveral villages, which
feemed well peopled ; and much of the coun-
try is tolerably cultivated. Opolzko is a for-
tified tov\^n,and ftands in the middle of a fmall
foreft, on a very pretty river ; it is not large,
but well built, confidering it is in Ruflia, where
fcarcely any thing is ever ufed but timber,
of
it ij s s I A. 155
of which there is great plenty all over the^eih-
pire. The 25 th it fnowed inceflantly, and fo
hard, that I was forced to flop till the 27th,
before I could proceed on myjourney^ that
is, till the fnow, which laid thick on the
ground, was frozen; and then I was provided
with fledges, which are a very eafy, expedi-
tious, and agreeable way of travelling ; and
pleafed me fo exceedingly, that I wifhed for
a longer journey on the fnow than I now had
to travel ; the cold was not fo penetrating as I
exped:ed to find it.
From Opolzko to Peterfburg is two hun-
dred and feventy miles, which I travelled
in four days with great eafe. And here
ends this route through the weftern provin-
ces of this great empire, which are the fineft
and moft populous in it; for tho' I have been
informed, that Siberia, and other immenfe
' regions to the eaft, confift of as fertile a foil
as any in the world, and fome parts of them
featedin as mild a climate, yet the near neigh-
bourhood of the roving Tartars, in thefouth-
ern and fineft tracks, renders them al moft con-
tinued dsfarts : Ruflia, it is true, has con-
quered many of them fo completely, that they
are not only tributary, but alfo entirely un-
able to exert themfelves againfl the empire,
nationally fpeaking; but with individ.Tals the
O 2 cafe
S96 TRAVELS Through
eafe is different, and thofe provinces could not
be fettled without thefe Tartar neighbours
being driven entirely away, or extirpated: fo
that the weftern provinces, which are near to
trade, and to the feat of government, are thofe
of much the greateft importance : through
thefe I have travelled above two thoufand
miles, fo that I am able to form a pretty ac-
curate general idea of the country.
It appears, upon the whole, to be much
better peopled than I expeded to find it. It
is true, there are many forefts, in which you
may travel a whole day without feeing any
habitations^ and in other parts of the empire
to a much greater extent; but we are not to
Ibok in Ruffiafor the population of the moft
-vveflern countries of Europe; if fuch was to
be found, this empire, which is of a much
greater extent than thatof the Romans, would
be as powerful alfo > but the common ideas
of this country, being all a defart, are carried
too far : It is very badly peopled, taking the
whole together j but many of the provinces,
tiirough which I paifed, are very populous: the
towns are confiderable, and the villages very
thick ;. much of the territory in a good ftate
of culture ; and the appearanceof it, in many
pnrts, flourifliing : to this may be added the
ii^reat increafeof people, conflantly gaining, by
the
RUSSIA. 1^^
thcteception and encouragement given to fo*
reigners to fettle, who flock hither in whole
troops : I fhall not aflert, that RufTia is a po-
pulous, well cultivated country ; all I fay is>
that there are more parts of it fd, than I ha4
reafon to cxped from the accounts I had re-
ceived, and the books I had read : the latter
indeed muft neceifarily be far from the prefent
truth in moft particulars, from the changed
that are conflantly making, and from the
improvements of all kinds, which the prelent
Emprefs fo nobly patronizes: and I may ven-*-
ture to predi6t, that if ihe enjoys a long life, (he
will change the face of the whole dominion j
all the weflern provinces will be fully peopled :
wherever the foil is fit for cultivation, the
crown lands will be brought to yield a very
great revenue, and general improvement
fpread around.
Upon my arrival at Peterlburglhiredmyold
lodgings, which had been empty fince I left
them : I was not determined what courfe totake,
bufmefs wanted me much in England, for I had
received letters from three tenants in Nor-
thamptonfliire, complaining of my agent; and
counter ones from my agent, complaining of
my tenants j in which cafe, nothing is effect
tual butalandlord'sprefencci on the contrary,
the feafon was fo advanced, that it was im-
pofTible tago by fea; and journeys, in the
O 3 depth
J98 TRAVELS THROUGH
depth of winter, are to me extremely difagree-
able, and the more fo, fmce habit had made
me attentive to the ftate of all the countries I
paffed through, and inquifitive in examining
the agricultui'e of them, which is very badly
performed in the midft of fnows : this made
me think of fpending the winter at Peterfburg,
and taking my way home in the fpring, either
through Poland and Germany, or by the way
of Turkey to the Adriatic, and fo to Italy; hut
not reliftiing the idea of a winter, in latitude
60, I did not determine.
In this fufpence 1 fpent a fortnight, which .
time I pafTed very agreeably, by means of a
more extended acquaintance than I had made
before ; and I was particularly happy in Mr.
Mafon's arrival at Peterfburg, who had tra-
velled quite acrofs Poland from Vienna ; he
defigned to take advantage of the fnow, to
travel through Siberia, adefign I much dif-
fuaded him from : however, he determined
on refting.himfelf a.month at Peterfburg; and
jny being fo fortunate as to have much of this
trentleman's company at my quarters, made
the time and the feafon pafs away very agree-
ably: we converfed together upon the mutual
fubjedl of our travels, which proved to me a
fund of inexhauftible pleafure ; for Mr. Ma-
fon, bcftdes crofling Poland, had been all over
Germany ;
:: ,0 : R u s s I A. 199
Germany 5 through part of Hungary ; over
Italy, France and Spain. He had been long
upon this tour, and has con traded fuch a
habit of moving about, that I believe he will
not fettle again, till he has travelled all the
world over. Lafl: winter he fpent on the coaft
of Africa, and he has determined, for the fake
of feeing the furprizing change, to pafs this,
in the ice and fnows of the north. This, it
muil be confefTed, is feeing and becoming ac-
quainted with human nature in every form,
and with all the cuftoms of the world; and
to a perfon, who has an inclination for fuch a
way of life, which is ftrong in my friend Mr.
Mafon, it is, purfujng the inclination eifec-
tually,
A perfon who lives genteely at Peters-
burg, efpecially if he be a foreigner, is furc
to get eafily into the beft company in the
court; I had not been fix weeks fettled in my
winter habitation before I had more com-
pany than I cared forj but it was not difficult
to feledt from amopg them fome whofe con-
verfation was equally agreeable and inflruc-
tjve. And I never fpent my time in a manner,
that was more to my inclination, than in the
company of Mr. Mafon, M. de Reverfholt, a
general officer in the Ruffian fervice, a native
of Saxony; the baron Minchewfe, a Ruffian
O 4 noblesnan.
?0Q TRAVELS THROUGH
nobleman, and the Count de Selliern, a no-
bleman fettled in Ruflia, but of Polifh extrac-
tion. Thefe men areperfe6lly well acquainted
with the languages, courts, and armies of the
prijicipii nations in Europe. They have all
tfgvelledi- are learned, polite, and of moft
liberal ideas. For two months we took it by
turns to have a dinner and fupper provided at
©ur quarters, where all the reft affembled,
andfpent thebeftpaftof the day and evening:
the circle was fometimes enlarged, by fomc
of U5. bringing a friend, which was chiefly
three noblemen fettled atPeterfburg,who in-
troduced feveral Ruffian and other foreign
officers, who had fe^n muck fervice, and
were polite and underflanding perfons. ' In
this company I had the fatisfad:ion of having
much converfation upon feveral fubjcfls of
confequence, in which I was defirous of gain-
ing further intelligence; particularly, con-
cerning the ftate of the diftant provinces of
the empire, the views of the court upon the
Black fea, and the prefent condition of the
Turkifh forces.
M. de Reverfholt, who had been in the
laft campaign againft the Ottomans, gave
me the following particulars of the Turks,
which I think may be agreeable to the rea-
der:—'He obferved, " that if ever the Ruffian
empire
RUSSIA. 201
empire engaged in a war with a certainty of
fuccefs, it is in the prefent ; for the Turkifb
army is perfedly enervated with peace 3 ten
quiet years doing more mifchief to it in this
refpefl,' than forty to any other army in Eu-
rope: 'the JanifTaries have the abfolute com-
mand of the empire ; and their luxury and
riot, in a time of peace, is fuch, being almoft
without difcipline, th at they reduce themfelves
to a level with theworfl forces ih the Turkifh
army^ That, befides this evil, another of a
yet worfe tendency is, the equality of the
Grand Seignor's revenue: money in Turkey
is of the fame cheapnefs as in all other coun-
tries of Europe, but the taxes of the empire
continue always the fame; fo that theTurkifh"
monarch, although he has now the fame re-
venue as his predeceflbrs, Itill is be) ond com-
parifon a much poorer prince. Many authors
have given ftrange accounts about theTurkifh
policy in fqueezing the bafhas, and by that
means railing a regular revenue ; but he ob^
ferved, that it is a great miftake to think this
any equivalent for the decline in the value of
money; that now and then the Grand Seignor
fleeces a bafha, and gets a confiderable fum,
but in no refpe6l to be named with any regu-^
lar revenue ; that the forfeiture of eftates in
Chriflian countries might almoft as well be
kt
2C2 TRAVELS THROUGH
fet down for a revenue, as this of the Turks.
He remarked, that the efFe6ls, which were
within the power of curious perfons to become
informed of, (hewed, that the revenue of the
Turkifh empire was fmaller than in former
times: oneftrong inftancewas, the number of
their troops being lefs, and this, by fo confi-
derable a number, as fixty thoufand men. It
i$ alTerted, as a fa<ft, that the Grand Seignor
cannot bring into the field fo many men, as
the Ottoman armies confifted of forty years
ago, by fixty thoufand. Their artilleiy,
while great improvements have been made
through all the reft of Europe, has declined
cpnfiderably ; it does not confift of fo many
pieces as formerly, nor are the magazines of
ammunition fo well fupplied. That in addi-
tion to this evil, the richeft province of his
empire, which is Egypt, is in a ftate of little
l^fs than rebellion ; and the war with Ruflia
bjears fo heavy on them, that they dare not
call for a categorical declaration, almoft
knowing, that it would denounce nothing but
war.
In oppofition to this piclure he enlarged
upon the ftate of Ruflia, which, inflead of
being a declining, is really a riling power;
that the Emprefs's army never was in fo good
order, nor fo numerous as at prcfent -, that
the
RUSSIA. 203
the troops were veterans, and not fuch as
had, in a hot and luxurious dimate, flept a-
way their time in peace, but frefh from a
vigorous fervice ; men who fcarcely knew
what peace was. The fuccefs, continued he,
which we have aheady had, (hews, that there
is a great difference in the principle of this
war, from any former one between the two
empires. It was the bufmefs of two or three
campaigns to prepare for the war, and gain a
fituation from which the enemy might be at-
tacked. Our armies fought to infinite difad-
vantage -, they had an immenfe march acrofs
defarts to make, in order to get at the enemy;
and, after a campaign, as long a march back
to get at winter quarters : but now the fcene
has been changed ; the northern fliore of
the Euxine is gained ; conquefts made in
Moldavia, and other Turkifh provinces ; fo
that the war is pufhed at once into the ene-
my's country, and winter, quarters gained
there, which is precifely the thing that was
always wanting before ^ and therefore the
pofleffion of it at prefent can hardly fail of
being attended with the moft fortunate con-
fequences. I think it would be no extrava-
gance topredid; the fall of the Turkifh em-
pire being not very far off,"
The
J04 TRAVELS THROUGH
The Count de Minchewfe was of a diffe-
rent opinion from M.deReverfholt in feveral
converfations on this fubje6t; and the argu-
ments he ufedwere to the following purport:
• ** I cannot contradict, faid that noble-
man, the fa6l of our arms having a better
profped of fuccefs in this war, than in any
former one; but there are two circumftances,
which appear to me fufficiently ftrong to pre-^
vent any fuch brilliant fuccefs as my friend
mentions. Firft, by beating the Turks, and
carrying on two or three campaigns, their
army will be daily improved, while no fuc-
cefs can make ours better than when they
began the war. In every war, which the
Ottoman empire or theHoufeof Auftriahave
carried on againfl us, they have improved in
the fuccefs of their arms from the continu-
ance of the war -, their raw, undifciplined
troops become veterans, and order and cou-
rage introduced among them from experience.
This circumftance makes a long and protract-
ed war dangerous in itfelf, or at lead more
favourable to the enemy than it can be to us.
The revenues alio of the two empires, though
there is much truth in what has been aiferted,
flill will not bear acomparifon relative to the
conduct of a war. The Grand Seijjnor can
certainly fupport great expences longer than
the
R U S S I A. ao5
the Emprefs ; and what is of much greater
eonfequence, his fituation will ever make one
ruble go as far as our five; for the Black fea
keeps open a conftant navigation forfupport-
ing their armies dire6lly from their grand
magazine, Conftantinople^ and which will
always be of great fervice, though a Ruffian
fleet was upon that fea -, but if they were de-
prived of that advantage, yet there is no com-
parifon between the eafe of recruiting the
Turkifh armies with the befl troops from
their provinces immediately at their backs,
and the immenfe diftance which every thing
from Ruflia has to go before it can arrive at
our army; and this, I think, is almoilfufficient
to prevent any very important fuccefs. , All
thefe points can hardly fail of making a pro-
traded war more fatal to us, by the greatnefs
of the expence, than it can be to the Turks.
As to making a very bold pufli to finifh the
war in two or three campaigns, by aiming
fpeedilyatConftantinople, there are too many
dangers in the plan to think that any com-
mander would hazard it. From the two
great frontier fortrelTes, Ockzakow and Ben-
der, there are near four hundred miles to
Conftantinople. The Danube, with its fix
mouths, and vail mai'ihes, befides a great line
of fortrelTes, all lie in the way; and after that,
near
2o6 TRAVELS THROUGH
near three hundred miles of a very defenfible'
country. Such a march muft, in the nature
of the proportion, leave all the provinces to
the weft of Moldavia and Wallachia behind;
fo that nothing would be eafier than aTurkifli
army to be collefted in thofe provinces, and
to cut off the communication and retreat of
the grand army: in fuch a lituation, it would
be almoft impoflible for it to efcape ruin.
The Turks would have nothing to do but to
deftroy the country, harrafs its march, and
difpute every inch of land, and every poft, ftill
avoiding a general engagement: the leaft er-
ror in the Ruffian general would be deftruc-
tion, and nothing but continued and fignal
vidtories could be crowned with fuccefs. In
fuch a fituation,! am not clear that the taking
Conftantinople would be decifive. But the
war could never be carried on upon this plan;
none is feafible but making abfolutely fure of
all the country as you advance; to leave no-
thing behind you unconquered, or unpof-
fejTed ; but to advance flowly, campaign after
campaign. If ever we are able to make any
impreffion of confequence upon the empire of
the Ottomans, it muft certainly be in this
method.'*
This difcourfe, I tliought, carried with it
great marks of knowledge, and a very atten-
tive
R U S S I A. 2C7
tive eye to the chances of the prefent war
with the Turks ; and I muft again repeat,
what I obferved upon another occafion, that
whenever aperfon, who minutes the pbferva-
tions he has made in his travels, has the fa-
tisfa6lion of meeti ng with perfons thus capable
of yielding inflrudtion, it may be as ufeful to
take notes of their opinions as of his own j
and accordingly I have feldom failed doing it.
Upon revilion, I am inclined to own, that
fuch parts of my memorandums have greater
val ue than I (houldhave been able to have given
them. laikedthebaron, if he did not think
that events of great importance might at-
tend a vidorious Ruffian fleet in the Euxine?
He replied, I do not fee that events, fuch as
we have been fpeaking of, can ever arife
from it, except in one cafe j and thepoffibi-
lityor probability of that muft depend oncir-
cumftances, of which we are all ignorant till
they are tried. In making a conqueft of the
Crim,or of the provinces to the north o£ the
Danube, and to awe and curb the Tartars in
the Turkifli alliance; in all thefe cafes, a vic-
torious fleet would be of infinite importance,
and give advantages to our arms, which no
other circumftances could. But I do not ap-
prehend it polTible for any fleet to force its
way through the Streights and attack Con-
flantinople
$o8 TRAVELS THROUGH
ftantinople by water. But if the fleet on the
Black fea was numerous enough to take on
board the whole Ruffian army, with all its
camp, baggage, artillery, provifions. Sec. I
knownot, whether it would not be poflible to
land them within two or three days march
of Conflahtinople; nay, in cafe the coaft is fa-
vourable to difembarking, in one day's march.
In this cafe, the expedition would not be in
the abfolute danger of mifcarrying from a
march of four hundred miles, with a certain-
ty of the retreat being cut off, but the event
thrown at once on that of a battle, in a fitua-
tion where a viclory,fupported and maintain-
ed by fuch a fleet, would probably overthrow
the empire -, for there is a wide difference be-
tween gaining fuch a vi6lory frefh from the
fliips, and fo fupported, and the fame fuccefs
without any fupport, and after the repeated
and certain lofles of a long and defperate
march. But to fuch a fcheme there would
be many obje6lions, though not fo flrong a<;
to the other : the greated would be the dif-
ficulty of procuring, manning, and fupport-
ing fuch a fleet, as would be ncceflluy to
make the conducl at all fccure ; and this is (o
great, that itwould never be pofTibk to effe8",
in confequence of events that fell out after a
war began ; for many years would be necef-
fary
RUSSIA. 209
lary for the mere building fuch a fleet, and
great treafures muft be expended in it. It
could never therefore be executed without
the idea being Conceived in a time of peace,
and the fleet built in confequence, and ready
for ufe, with fkilful mariners and pilots ready
at the breaking out of the war : which ftate
of the cafe fuppofes the Emprefs to be in pof-
feflion of all the north coafl of that fea, and
to have the free navigation of it; for with-
out both, it would be impoflible to think of
the execution of fuch a plan. Thus you fee,
what long preparation mufl: in any cafe be-
iieceflary to form a confiilent plan for attack-
ing Conftantinople ; and yet I am perfuaded,
that this is the only' plan that can ever prove
fuccefsful. Firft, there muft be a war, and
a fuccefsful one; for fuch muft be that which
gives pofleffion of Little Tartary and the
Crim to the Emprefs. After this war,
no time Ihould be loll in railing a naval
force upon the Black fea, fuperior to any
thing the Turks can fit out. Thirdly, that
fea muft be mofl minutely navigated, that
every fliip may have a pilot, who knows the
rocks, banks,' currents, &g. And laftly, a
fucceeding war muft happen (o fuccefsful, as
to put us in pofleffion of the provinces north
of the Danube; for even by fea it might be
Vol. III. P fatal
210 TRAVELS THROUGH
fatal to make the attempt, with a ftrong
enemy left behind fo near as Ockzakow, Ben-
der, or any places in that country.-^ When
all thefe previous fteps were taken, and had
proved fuccefsful, then I fhould fuppofe the
attempt might be made, and with a proba-
bility of fiiccefs. I do not {peak of the prac-
ticability of landing on the Ibuth-weft coaft
of the Euxine, becaufe I have been often told,
that it is all a very fafe coafl, and proper for
landing on.'*
The whole month of December, and the
beginning of January 1770, we fpent in our
mutual vifits at Peterfburg ; and I may fay
with great truth, and without paying the
other members a compliment, that I never
paiied any time more agreeably : now and
then Mr. Mafon and myfelf appeared at court,
which is necell'ary here ; and the Emprefs
learning that we were great travellers, entered
more than once into converfation with us ;
and enquired into our opinions of feveral ob-
je£ls we had viewed. She is referved in the
ttianner of her fpeecb, but has a noble open
countenance, and a becoming greatnefs in
her air and carriage. There is nothing lively
or pleafnig at court, the whole being but a
dull, tho' a fine Icene. It is certain, that the
great wifdom, which has hitherto appeared
in
RUSSIA. 211
in 'all the actions and councils of the princefs,
flows from her own perlbnal genius and a-
bilities : I have not learned that fhe has any
minifters, whole diflinguifhed parts would
give~ on^ any reafon to fuppofe the fuccefs
owing to them ; befides, it is well known
here, that the Emprefs is very determinate in
her opinion. She afks and hears the advice
of her council upon important affairs; but
flie generallyv follows her ov/n opinion, which
is evident from her acting diredtly contrary
to the opinion of the whole, in two or three
affairs of confequence; and in which the fuc-
cefs that followed proved clearly, that her
own judgment was better than that of all her
minifters. She is remarkable for being ex-
ceeding quick in all her decifions ; (lie never
a£ls from long and repeated confideration^
but determines almofl: inflantaneoufly, and
executes with equal celerity. Such a difpo-
fition is certainly fitter for the conduct of
great affairs, than one in which more caution
and a greater degree of prudence appeared ;
for nothing is fo fatal in the government of aii
empire, as inconflancy and irrefoiution. He
who confiders long before he determines,
muft infallibly mifs many opportunities,
which, to more a<5live minds, are feized the
inftauc they appear.
P 2 The
212 TRAVELS THROUGH
The laft week hi January Mr. Maibn in-
fornLiedme,thathehaddetermiiiedoii an excttr-
Tion into Siberia on the fnow, and attempted
to perluade me to accompany him; I did not
like the fcheme, as it mufl prove a long and
tedious journey ; and in my turn, I propofed an
excuriion wherever he pleafed for a month,
which would give us both an opportunity of
. feeing the nature of this travelling ; we con-
verfed often upon this fubje<St before we could
decide; as we prefently determined to break
the length of the winter by fome excurfion
of this fort. I expatiated to him upon the
drearinefs of fo long a journey upon the fnow,
and offered to accompany him to Ifpahan in
Perfia ; which was moving into a warm cli^
mate, inflead of freezing on the fnows of the.
nortii ; belides, fuch a plan would fhew us
a country highly worthy of our attention, and
introduce us into quite a new fcene. He ob-
■jefted to taking luch a journey in the deptli
of winter, aflerting, and truly, that to have
it agreeable it (hould be made in the fpring.
At laft he came into the fcheme of a Ihort
. excurfion; and that we might have the fnow
in perfetSlion, he determined to point full
north, and vifit Archangel, and the coafl of
the White lea.
All
RUSSIA. 213
All thk journey was more a fcbeme of a-
mulement than obfervatlon ; and as it was per-
formed while the ground was covered feveral
feet deep with frozen fnow, it afforded very
little matter that is worthy of regiftering in
this journal. We croiled the lake of Ladoga
upon the ice and fnow to Oloucky, thence
Grofs the lake Onega to Cargapol, and from
thence through a great foreft to Archangel.,
^he diftance is about three hundred miles,
which took us only five days ; we flopped for
lodgings at the towns we paffed; and the
fcenery of the country, which exhibited a
world of fnow in every phantaftic form that
can be imagined, was a fource of perpetual
amufernent. The weather was very fevere ;
but it is incredible how warm a compleat fuit . „
of fur, well furrounded with cloaks of the .^
fame, keeps one; I believe I could have flept. .
all night upon the fnow, and full in the
keeneft wind, without any other covering ,
than my furs ; but travelling in cold coun-
tries has made me hardy: Mr. Mafon often
complained, when 1 felt not the Icafl incon-.
venience. The fmooth and immenfe plain
formed on the two lakes is an obje£t amaz-,,
ingly flriking; and the vaft forefts, rifingout
ofthefnowin fome places, and in others co-
vered with it, exhibited fcenes inhnitely mag-
P 3 niiicent.
214 TRAVELS THROUGH
nificent. I had many opportunities of feeing
the winter life of the peafants, the inhabi-
tants of lonely cottages in the midfl of thefe
unbounded fnowy regions. They lay in a
{lore for winter of falted meat indifcriminate-
ly, of whatever fort tl:ey have; alfo aquantlty
of rye, barley, peafe, or meal ; and they lay
up likewife a confiderable portion of dried
£fh, which they cure in the fmoak of their
cabbins : this winter ftock, with the fowls
and accidental beafts they kill in ranging the
forefts, fupply them tolerably well. They
cloath themfelves very warm in the fkins of
ordinary forts of beafls, that hardly deferve
the name of furs: and the plenty of wood,-
every where to be found, makes firing fo
cheap an article to thepa, that their winter
Jives are, I imagine, much more comfortable
than their fummer ones; for their lords have
notfo much worl< for them to perform, {o
that more of their time is their own ; the
greateft regale that can be given them, is
that of a dram ; and we have often found,
that they would, in any little contract, per-
form' much more than they agree to, if a
dram is added. This in fo cold a country,
and where the articles of luxury among the
poor are {b extremely limited, is not to be
wondered at,
Archangel
^ us SI A. 215
Archangel is a fmall town, almofl on the
mouth of theDwina, which river is very broad
and deep, and forms an excellent harbour..
It contains about five thoufand inhabitants,
but the number once was near thirty thou-
fand, when it was the great ftaple of all the
trade which the Englifh and Dutch carried on
with Ruffia, before Peter the Great founded
Peterthurg. It is worthy of obfervation, that
from that port there was a coniiderable exr
port of Ruffian commodities, particuiafly ns^
val ftores and furs, before that great com-
merce was in being, which has lince a^ofe
at Peterfburg. In thpfe days, it was not aa
uncommon thing to fee three or four hundred
fail of fhips at a time in this harbour, but
now very few refort there: It is a poor place;
the buildings containing nothing that is at all
worthy of notice : They have a cathedral,
and an archbifhop of the Greek church ; but
every thing looks much on the decline.
To avoid returning to Peterfburg by the
fame road we had come, Mr. Maibn propofed
our crofling the White fea on the ice, and
taking a fmall compafs through Lapland, and
turningfouthwards,roundthatfea,downtothe
lake Ladoga, and ib home to Peterfburg :
this plan I readily agreed to, and accordingly
we executed it. From th-e promontory of
P 4 Catfaoze,
2i6 TRAVELS THROUGH
Catfnoze, acrofs to Parfiga in Lapland, is
about feven and thirty miles, which we
pafTed in lefs than a day, though not without
fonae danger. From thence we went to Po-
hina, then to Kola, almoft on the north fea,
and turning fouth to Keretta, palled out of
Lapland from Kovoda into Carelia, having
travelled near five hundred miles through
Mufcovite Lapland. I expeded to find nine
tenths of the country a defart, but it. is not
fo ; on the contrary, there are feveral little
towns, and among thofe on the coafl there
is a fmall trade divided; a fhip on a coafting
voyage, now and then, comes in fummer, to
purchafe furs with fuch commodities as arc
more in requeft among the Laplanders. There
is very little cultivation among them ; but
they have large orchards, which furnifh them
with an ordinary fort of apple : what corn
they fow is chiefly rye, and a little barley; and
this is a new thing, for formerly they lived
entirely upon hunting and fifhing, which are at
prefent their principal dependance: they dry
both flefh and fifli for winter provifion, and
feem not much to regard the feverities of the
climate. I do not enter into any particular
defcription of them, or their manners, be-
caufe 1 find, that the accounts which 1 have
read are very juft, The face of the country,
from
RUSSIA. 217
from what could be feen of it in this feafon,
cannot be difagreeable ; it confifts of many
open plains, gentle hills, and woods ; fome
of which are open groves, having no under-
wood in them. This province pays the Em-
prefs but one tax, which is a certain tribute
of furs; the amount of which is confiderable.
The rental of the eftates, which are fituated
in it, is paid entirely in furs and Ikins, for
which the peafants have liberty to cultivate
whatever land they want, and alfo to hunt and
fifh on all the eftates. In fuch a country it may
"be fuppofed, that large tracks of land yield
but very fmall returns ; I was affured after-
w^ards by a gentleman at Peterfburg, that he
has a track of Cixty miles long, by four and
twenty broad in fbme places, and the income
of it was not four hundred pounds a year neat
at Peterfburgh.
Upon our return to that city we renewed our
former fociety, in order to pafs the reft of the
winter in as agreeable a manner as pollible;
a purpofe, which I found was fortunately an-
fwered, and made me often refled with plea-
fure on my determining to winter here. But
I believe much, in fuch cafes, is to be attri-
buted to one's determining beforehand tomake
the beft of all thofe inconveniencies, which
;nay be occafioned by difference of climate or
feafon.
2i8 TRAVELS THROUGH
feafon. In the depth of winter the inhabi-
tants of Ruffia keep chiefly within doors ;
the fociety of the fire-fide is then the only
refuge from the inclemency of the weather;
this naturally begets a more fociable temper
and a greater willingnefstobepleafedthanif all
common objedls divided the attention, and oc-
cupied one's hopes and fears. Whether this is
or is tiot a rational account of the matter, I
have, however, often experienced the cafe ;
and tho' my acquaintance this winter at Pe-
terfburg wanted no circumftances to fet them
off, yet I think I enjoyed their converfation
more, than if it had been in the midft of the
mildnefs of the winter in Andalufia.
The count de Selliern informed us about
the middle of March, that he (hould, very
early in the fpring, repair by the Emprefs's
order to Azoph, to make the campaign which
was meditated againft the Turks in Georgia;
and in which he expeded a commiffion of im-
portance. This turned our converfation for
feveral days on the views of the court of Ruf-
fia, in the war in that part of the world ; and
the Baron Minchewfe aflerted, that attacking
theTurks in their provinces, between theBlack
fea and the Euxine, was one of the wifeft
jneafures, that could be adopted, and the beft
calculated of any to give a great divcrfion to
their
RUSSIA. 219
theiF arms, to the eafe of the war in the
provinces on the north of the Danube. It is
a territory of very great importance from its
(ituation between the two feas, as well as from
the finenefs of the climate and the fertility of
much of the foil. It is by means of thefe
provinces that they hold fo great a command
pf the Black fea, entirely furrounding it by
their dominions and ports. By thefe* pro-^
vinces alfo the communication is kept up
between their other dominions and the Tar-
tars in fubje<ftion or alliance with them, after
the Ruffian army cuts it off on the weftern
eoafl. Such a diverlion, if made by an army
tolerably powerful, would have great efFeds;
t-hofe eaftern provinces are weak, drained of
their troops, and the fortrefTes never in good
order; if all the maritime ones were attacked
pne after another by an army in concert
with a fleet, the war might in two campaigns
be carried to the fouthern c^afl of that fea,
which would alarm the Turks exceedingly,
and occafion great drafts from their grand
army.
Upon another occafion, when we were
converfing upon the profpeds of the prefent
war, I related the journey I had made from
the Ukraine along the frontiers of Poland to
Peterfburgb 5 and oblerved, that an immenfe
track
220 TRAVELS THROUGH
track of country was not only in the hands of
the Ruffian troops, but the towns and villages
partly peopled with Ruffians, while the old
inhabitants were all flying into Ruffia: this,
1 remarked, had all the appearance of the Em-
prefs's defigning to annex thofe countries to her
dominions. The Count faid, in reply, that
there were feveral provinces in Lithuania^
which the ancient Czars had long claimed ;
they were once independent ; and after put-
ting themfelves firft under the protection of
Poland, then under that of Ruffia, and then
poing back to Poland again, difputes about
the fovereignty had happened, which extend-
ed in fome degree to the whole grand duchy
of Lithuania: he therefore fuppoled the Em-
prefs might keep thofe provinces in her
hands, if not retain them, at leaft for making-
a divifion with the republick, and afcertaining'
clearly the boundary, if ever a time of tran-
quillity fhould return. He faid, that there was
great reafon to believe, fo very poUtical a
princefs would not miftake fo much, as to
form any confiderable conquefts from Poland,,
and that for two unanfwerable reatbns: firft,
becaufe they are not worth her having,*
after the inhabitants are all fwept away; by.
her encouragements fhe attracts the greater:
part, and fear fends away the reft: it, on a
peace.
R U S S' r Ar • -- 221
peace, the owners of thofe provinces are at the
trouble to re-people them from other parts of
Poland, they will only be at work for her, as
in a future rupture the fame game will be
played over again, and the Emprefs gain every
thing fhe wants, which is not territory, but
people. The fecond reafon is no lefs forci-
ble ; if fhe was to diirnember any provinces
qf confequence from the kingdom of Poland,
fhe would fcarcely fail of bringing the united
arms of Auftria and Pruflia on her ; neither of
which powers can ever fee, with any degree
of fatisfadlion, the increafe of this empire's
greatnefs, and would declare againft it, the
inflant gny appearance took place of mak-
ing acquisitions from Poland, which to them
would carry appearances of greater deligns ;
and if Poland fell into the hands of any neigh-
bour, the balance of power, in all this part
of the world, is at once deftroyed; and of all
Events, none can be more againfl the interefts
of Auflria and Prufha, than to bring the
Ruffian power nearer to them than it is at
prefent. Peopling her waftes is the great ob-
jedl of the Czarina ; Polifli provinces would
be of no value to her; if territory is her ob-
je£l it cannot be in Poland, but on the
Euxine fea, where it would bring trade, and
a command with it, of much more conle-
quence
224 TRAVELS THROUGH
quence to her than half of Poland. The Ruf^
lians you faw fettling on the frontier pro-
vinces, mufl be merely fuch as are attracted
by the armies with a view of fupplying them
at a time, when the deferted houfes and farms
of the Poles were ready to receive them ; but
they will all be glad to return, when the occa-
fion of their going is removed. Thofe pro-
vinces are now under the civil as well as mi-
litary adminiftration of Ruffia, which muft of
confequence carry a great number of Ruffians
there, whofe refidence can be no longer than
the occafion continues. All will return upon
a general pacification.
I fhould think, in good politics, the Count's
opinion mufl be right; and that the Emprels
keeps pofleffion of lo many Polifh provinces,
in order to be better able to carry off all the
inhabitants ; which is certainly making the
beft ufe of them that can be to her. But,
at the fame time, Ihe acquires all that ftrength
which would be the confequence of feizing
the provinces themfelves ; and therefore her
rivals, who would declare againft her for one,
fhould, to be confiftent, do the fame for the
other; for there certainly can be no doubt, but
the increafe of a million of fubje£ls, fixed on
the crown lands of this empire, would
ftrengthen the monarch on the throne tar
more
RUSSIA. 223
more than the acquifition of a Polifh pro-
vince, containing a million, and yield four
or five times the wealth.
The approach of the fpring made Mr,
Malbn and myfelf think of leaving Pcterfburg.
He determined to travel into Periia, and, if
the country is tolerably fettled, to go by land
through the Mogul's empire to our fettlements
on the coaft of Coroinandel ; an idea very
worthy of a man, who, I believe, will never
ceafe to travel till he ceafes to live. But as I
have no defire to pafs away my life without
the fatisfadion of fixing, I (hall bend my
courfe homewards, with the pleafing idea of
turning a country farnier in Northampton-
Ihire, and putting in practice, on my own
eftate, fome of the various cultures and me-
thods which I have viewed in fo many
places.
The 3d of April, 1770, I left Peteriburg,
taking with me five attendants to condudt me
fafe through Poland ; among whom were
two foldiers, who could fpeak German and
Polifh: of the former language I have enough
to underftand common converfation. Such a
retinue in England would coft a traveller four
or five pounds a day; but I could travel in
Ruflia or Poland for four and thirty {hillings
a day, all expences included, except extraor-
dinary
224 TRAVELS THROUGH
dlnary ones : when I ftop at large townS)
the landlords, though thej are very reafon*
able, will yet fwell the account higher than
that. I arrived the 5th at Narva, which is
one hundred miles, the country very badly
inhabited, but much of it cultivated. The
frofl is beginning to go ; fo in ten days or a
fortnight we may expect fummer, which, in
the northern climates, comes at once, with-
out the intervention of fpring. The fiiow
melts apace, till it is quite gone ; the roads
will be bad ; but I have, even in their pre-
fent circumflances, travelled on worfe.
Narva is prettily fituated on the banks of a
fine river, though not a deep one, as (hips of*
any fize cannot come up to the town : it is
well built, and flrongl}' fortified. Here is a
coniiderable trade in hemp, flax, timber, pot-
afhes, and mofl of the commodities which
are exported from Peterfburg. Almofb all the
trade is in the hands of the Englilh and
Dutch; but the former are much the greateft
purchafers : the trade, which the latter carry
on here has long been on the decline. I left
Narva the 6th, at noon, and taking the banks
of the river, followed it two days, when I arrived
at Salatiki, which is above ninety miles from
Narva, flanding at the bottom of a very fine
lake, above forty miles broad, and as much
long.
RUSSIA, 225
long. All this country is pretty well culti-
vated. I faw many fields of rye beautifully
green, though fo lately covered with fnow,
and much of them now under it. The 8 th I
reached Plefcow, on a lake of the fame name
fome parts of which, from the wooded illands
which are thick in it, are very beautiful. All
this country is as well cultivated as any part
of Ruflia. It produces a large quantity of
flax ; but they reckon the foil rather too light
for hemp. They have two feafons for fow-
ing both wheat and rye; Odober, and April
and May; tut they reckon that the former
feafon yields the belt produce. They grow
mucli more corn than is neceflary for their
own confumption, which, with their flax, is
exported by the port of Narva; water carriage
giving them that opportunity at a very cheap
rate. Wheat yields here two quarters, and
fometimes more, upon an acre ; rye not more
thaii wheat : barley is not fown till the mid-
dle of May, but the heat of the fun brings an
early harveft; it is not reckoned a very pro-
fitable grain here ; they get from two quar-
ters to two and an half per acre : oats yield
three and an half. I had been informed, that
in Livonia one method of cultivation was
very extraordinary, which was that of flood-
ing vales that would admit it, and keeping
Vol. III. Q_ them
226 TRAVELS THROUGH
them as fifh-ponds for three or four years,
and then, letting the water off, they cultivate
it for corn for five or fix years ; after which
the water muft be let on again to fertilize it
afrefh; but on enquiry I found it was not irt
this part of the country: but they ufe here
almofl as many wood afhes for manuring their
lands as they do in Sweden, and fay that no
other manure has fo ereat an efFe<5l.
'The roads growing but indifferent, I 4id
not reach Marienburg till the tenth ; the dif-
tance better than fifty miles. The country is
Woody in parts, but much of it very well cul-
tivated. I paffed through large tracks of
young wheat and rye, which looked extreme-
ly well; and the peafants were all bufy in the
■fields with their ploughs, which they work,
feme with horfes, and fome with oxen. They
were tilling their Tands for barley and oats,
and al fo flax; for the latter of which they ap-
propriate their befi foils, if not wet clays; but
they prefer a fine light fahdy loam for it.
Ai> ^cre of good flax is worth from three to
five pounds; but they raife much that does
not yield three. Marienburg is a fmall town,
tolerably well built, and mofl romantically
fituatcd on a promontory of land which pro-
jeiSls into a large lake; fo that it is joined to
■ the main land only by a narrow neck, not
• • ■ much
RUSSIA. 227
itiuch wider than the road. An inland place
in a country not full of manufadures, caa
fcarcely be of any great importance. Marien-
burg was once of confequence for its ftrength,
and the fcene of feveral military expeditions,
when belonging to the Teutonic knights.
It is at prefent poor, but ftrong for this part
of the world. The people live cheaply, frorn
the fertility of the neighbouring country,
and the vaft quantity of lifh which they get
tut of the lake. The farmers manure their
land around the lake with a kind of ouze,
which they dig up on the banks of it : it is of
a deep blue colour, about two feet deep, cuts
like wet peat, and is compofed of rotten vege-
tables ', for there is an immenfe growth of
weeds every year in the lake, which drive
afhore and rot, and, with a mixture of mud,
forms this manure, which is of the nature of
marie, and fertilizes their fields for many
years. 1 have no doubt but thp*1^me mate-
rials might be found on the coafts of many
other lakes j but cuftom not having made the
ufe of them common, the hufbandmen neg-
le6t them.
The 1 1 th I got to Pebalgen, another town
built on a lake^ the diftance about forty miles,
through a territory, part good, and part of it
marihy -, but all the lands that would admit
0^2 of
^28 TRAVELS THROUGH
of culture feemed to be under cultivation, and
yielded wheat, rye, barley, oats, and pulfe.
They alfo cultivate cabbages for the winter
food of their herds, which are very numerous.
It is a large red cabbage, which ilands the
li-tmofl feverity of the winter, and is taken
from under the fnow in full perfe<ftion for all
forts of cattle, who are wonderfully fond of
them. They ufed to fow the Swedifh turnep
for this ufe, but come more into the cabbage,
from finding the produce much greater. As
ta its (landing the winter, from the obferva-
tions I have made, I am inclined to believe
the climates in which vegetables fuffer moil,
are not thofe where great quantity of fnow
fall, but fuch as have fevere frofts without any
Show: thefnow keeps them warm, andgreatly
prote6ls them from the keen frofly winds,
which in other countries cut off fo many
vsgetahles. There is not much flax in this
line of country ;. but they cultivate a little
hemp :. however,, they depend moil upon
common huibandry. It is remarkable that
there is a great diiference between Livonia,
and the other parts of RuiTia which I have
been in. The ancient provinces are gene-
rally divided into the eilates of the nobility,
who cultivate them by means of ile wards
and agents, the peafants being all ilaves; but
in
RUSSIA. 229
in the Ukraine, the land belongs to llttk.
freeholders, if I may fo call them, who cul-
tivate their own property. Now in Livonia
the cafe differs from both ; for here eftates
are of all fizes, and lett out upon farming
leafes, as in England. There are many feats
of country gentlemen, who all have a part of
their eftates in their own hands j but the pea-
fants, though not fo much at their eafe as in
free countries, yet are not en {laved ; they
hire large tracks of land, which fome of
them cultivate extremely well; and many of
them are worth confiderable fums of money
for this part of the world.
The 1 2th I rode near fifty miles to Crop-
per, through a country moft beautifully wa-
tered with fmall lakes and rivers; it is dlver-
iified with gentle hills and groves of fine trees,
and great part of it well cultivated ; many
parts of England have a much worfe appear-
ance. The peafants, from the general a6livity
feen among them, are I believe a very induf-
trious fet of people; fcarcely any arable field
but what had ploughs at work in it; the foil
is fandy, for loams and clays require fome
time to dry after the fnow is gone, before they
will admit the cattle to till it; but thefe lands .
inclinable to fand are prefently dry enough
for tillage j they plough varioufly for their
0^3 fpring
.^3© TRAVELS THROUGH
fpring corn, fome only once, others three
times. Flax is cultivated by many of them^
but they affured me that wheat paid them
better, though fome farmers have now and
then fiich good flax crops as induce them to
continue the culture. I remarif:ed. that moft
of them are very attentive thro' the winter
feafon in raifmg dunghills, or rather conipoft
heaps near their houfes; for there was fcarcely
a farm without a gf eat fquare heap piled up
to a confiderable height ; they are compofed
9f the dung of their cattle, which they win-
ter in houfes, and litter them with rufhes and
other aquatic weeds, which they cut up for that
purpofe in their numerous lakes and rivers ;
they alfo add great quantities of mud, alfo
wood afhes, &;c. and at this time of the year
they mix thefe hills together, turning them
over, and incorporating the ingredients > after
which they leave them till they fow barley
or plantcabbages, fpreading themonthe land
before the laft ploughing. This mull all be
a very excellent fyftem of hi^fbandry.
The 1 3th in the afternoon I reached Riga,
. which is the moft confiderable place of trade
liext to Peterfburgb in the RuHian dominions.
It (lands very advantageoufly for commerce,
near the mouth of the river Dwina, which
with its branches, extending a great way into
Poland
RUSSIA. 231
Poland and Ruflia, bring immenfe quanti-
,ties of commodities which are exported froni
this city : Among thefe the principal are
•hemp, flax, timber for mafts and other pur-
^ofes; pitch, tar, and pot afhes; allthefecom-
modities are produced in the provinces or near
them, through which thofe rivers run; and
fome of them by means of fhort land carriage
from one river to another, much farther,
even from the Ukraine and the Polilh pro-
-vinces that border upon Turkey. It appears
by the regiiler of the cuftom-houfe at this
town, that more than five hundred fail of
ihips, from one hundred and fifty to four
Jhundred tons,have been loadedhereinayear;
three hundred of which were Dutch, and
one ^hundred and fixty Englifh ; but of
late the trade of the town has declined, for
at .prefent there are not many more than four
Jaundredfail cleared outwards, of which about
two hundred and forty are Englifh. Every
;ton of ,the goods they carry from hence
might be had at our own plantations; but for
want of due encouragement we come to Ruf-
fiafor them, and pay fome hundred thoufand
pounds balance on the account; which is an
inflance of miflaken politicks that never was
to be equalled in the annals of the Dutch re-
publick.
0^4 I had
232 TRAVELS THROUGH
I had a letter of recommendation to Mr,
Scueen, a principal merchant in this town,
with whom I fpent the evening j and he not
only gave me the heads of the preceding par^
ticulars, but I had alfo fome inftrudive conr
verfation with him on the prefent ftate of the
province of Livonia. Of all Peter the Great's
conquefts, this was the moft important; be*
ing a country, which for its produ6ls, ports,
and iituation is of the higheft importance to
Ruffia. It forms upon an average a fquare
of 200 miles every way, and contains bet-
ter than twenty-five millions of acres, and near
a million of people. Above half the lands,
he calculates, are underprofitable cultivation,
either in arable crops or good meadow -, and
exclufive of woods, marfhes, lakes and rivers.
The annual produdtis about thirteen millions
flerling, including timber. Such an eflimate
cannot be accurate, I do not give it the rea-
der as a paper of authority; it is nothing
more than the calculation of a very ingenious
fenfible man, who has many times travelled
all over Livonia. The parts which I faw are
not equal in culture to others in the province,
yet I ihould apprehend, that half the track I
came through is under culture, meadows in-
cludjcdi and as to the number of acres, it is
a geographical fa6l. But I fliould not con-
ceive
R -U S S 1 A.' 233
(C€iv€ there were quite a million of people in
Jt 5 I heard the number once eftimatcd at be-
tween fix an4 feven hunqlred thoufand. Sup-r
pofi ng ten or twelve millions of acres culti-
vated, which does not appear to me an ex-
aggerated idea, I do not fee how the total
produ6l of the province c^n be eftimated fo
low as thirteen millions. But from this
iketch of particulars it is eafy to conceive^
that the importance of the pfoyinice to Rufr-
iia is very great.
Travels
Travels throug-h Poland and Pruffia.
POLAND AND PRUSSIA, 237
C H A P. VII.
yourney to Dantzick—JDefcrlption of the coun-
try and hujbandry — 'Trade of Dantzick —
Journey to Warfaw — Mifer able fate of Po-
land — To Brefaw,
THE 14th I left Livonia, and reached
Mittaw, the capital of Courland, the
diftance about eight and forty miles. The
face of the country is exadtly the fame as that
of Livonia, and the foil equally fruitful, which
by information I found was the cafe of
the whole duchy: their produces, as hemp,
flax, lintfeed, timber, mails, pot afh, fkins,
tar, honey, wax, &c. are conliderable. The
whole country is full of black cattle, and they
have many horfes. In the happy times of the
Dukes of Courland, when the Ketler family
had quiet poffeilion, and before the duchy
and all its town were ravaged by the Swedes
and Mufcovites, Mittaw was a confiderable
and a fine town ; it reckoned fifteen thou-
fand inhabitants, but now they are not more
than nine thoufand. It is yet an agreeable
place, well built, with a handfome ducal
palace, where is fomething of a court with
guards.
4^8* TRAVELS THROUGH
guards, and there is always a ftrong garrifon
in it. Of late years there have been great
additions to the fortifications. It is now, as
well as the whole duchy, in the hands of the
Ruffians.
From Mittaw I reached Zagari in Poland
on the 15th, being about four and forty
miles; part of the country tolerably cultiva-
ted, but not equal to Livdniia, or even toCour-
land ', there were fome Ruffian foldiers at
Zagari, to keep the town and the neighbour-
ing country in order, which they do very ef-
fe6lually; and a great advantage it is to thefe
parts of Poland, where the civil war is thus
kept under by a foreign power. The ad-
vantages of all the cultivation I faw are in the
hands of the Ruffians, for the Polrih nobles
through moft of the great province of Samo-
gitia are driven from their eftates, and the
profits of fuch of them as are not de-
populated all goto the Ruffians. The cot-
tages of the peafants are as mean as can well
he conceived ; they are chiefly built of turf,
and covered with the fame, being drawn up
•in a fpiral form to a point, where is an aper-
ture for the fmoak to go out; the room is
large enough for the family and the cattle ;
all lye together and in the fame manner. I
had read that they ufed in this province none
but
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 239
6at^ Wooden plough- (hares, through a ridi-
culous notion that the iron damaged their
crops ; but this is not true, for I faw many
ploughs at work for barley, and all of them
had iron (hares, but of a moll aukward con-
llru6tion.
- The 1 6th I got to Rofenne, the diftance
near fixty miles ; through a country that had
hardly any appearance of prefent cultivation ;
many villages I pafled were deferted, feve-
ral manfions in ruins, and fields entirely
wafte that had once been tilled ; the whole
a very melancholy fpedlacle ; but much of
the country was partly marfh and forefl. The
town of Rofenne is a fmall fortified place,
which has a RufTian garrifon ; there is an ap-
pearance of nothing but poverty in it. The
17th I got to Swingy, a little town about
thirty four miles from Rofenne; there is fome
land in this line of country under cultivation,
being the eftate of a nobleman, who enjoys it
in tolerable peace under the proteflion of Ruf
fia. They fow barley, oats, peafe, beans, and
a little rye; I faw feveral ploughs at vi^ork ;
and upon examining them, found that the
fhares were wood, to my no fmall furprize ;
I enquired the reafon of this, and they could
give me none, only that they never ufed any
other fort; the land here is fandy, and did not
feem
24© TRAVELS THROUGH
feem to yield good crops ^ the rye was full of
weeds : I aflced if it was to be weeded, and
they told me they never weeded any corn at
all. The nobleman is an old man, who has
his eftate managed in the fame way as his fa-
ther had ; that is, the peafants are miferably
opprefTed by his ftewards, and his own in-
come at the fame time contemptible.
The 1 8 th I travelled forty miles toStocken,
all in Pruffia, the country fandy, and not
much of it well cultivated, but the peafants
are much more at their eafe than in Poland;
and this country being fubjed: to the king of
Pruffia, no Ruffians, no Polish confederacies,
nor any diflurbanccs happen in it, which is a
very great advantage to agriculture -, though I
yet have feen nothing that gives me any great
idea of their knowledge in that fcience. This
country is much more populous than Samo*
gitia, and the houfes of the peafants built of
much better materials. I paffed two or three
villages, entirely inhabited by Poles who have
fled their country, and fettled here by order
of the king of Pruffia, though without any of
that noble encouragement I faw exerted in
Iluffia J and I believe thofe who take refuge
in the latter country, are in other refpedls
better treated than they were in Pruffia. The
19th I got by dinner to Koninglhurg, the dif-
tance
^'OLAND AND PRUSSIA. 241
ftance, being only twenty miles through a
country pretty well cultivated, and tolerably
peopled, though the foil is in general fandy,
and from its appearance I fhould not apprehend
it very good. All the country people were how
bufy in preparing their land for fpring-fown
corn; they plough here with only two cattle
in a plough; and I faw fome drawn by a little
horfe and cow, or a little ox ; this is very
pra6licablewith fo light a foil: they fow large
quantities of buck- wheat, and reckon it more
profitable than barley. Koningfburg is the
moft confiderable town which the King has
in Pruflia; it is tolerably well fituated, and has
a very good harbour with fome trade, but not
near equal to that of Riga, though it is a
hanfe town. The export is in the fame ar-
ticles, except hemp and flax, of which the
quantity is too inconfiderable to mention.
Upon the coafl are found fometimes large
quantities of yellow amber, which is to be
bought at Koningfburg. The ftreets are broad,
but irregular and not well paved ; but there are
many very good buildings in it, and they
reckon above twenty thoufand inhabitants.
The King has made feveral attempts to in-
ereafe its trade, but they do not feem to be
attended with any great efFe(5l. Dantzick on
one fide, and Riga on the other, are two fuch
Vol hi, R rivals.
242 TRAVELS THROUGH
rivals, that this place cannot make its trade
good againft them for any thing further than
the mere amount of the produ6ls of that track
of country, which lies nearer to it than to any
other.
The 2oth I reached "Landfperg, at about
forty miles from Koningfburg : the country
all fandy, and, that circumftance -confidered,
pretty well inhabited. Buck-wheat is a great
crop with them, I found. They do not fow
it till the end of May: the produce is greater
than that of any other grain or pulfe, and the
ftraw they reckon nearly equal to hay for
cattle 5 an obfervation I had not any where
heard of before. Thepeafants of this country,
I find, are all much freer than in Poland, but
tTiey pay very heavy taxes to the- King ; yet
th'dy are not in fuch bad circumflances as the
Polifh peafants, becaufe taxation is regular;
whereas the payments made by the peafants
to their lords inPolandare (o capricious, that
they never know when they have paid their
total imoft of it being in cattle, and irregular
perfonalfcrvices; the beft liberty that can be
given to peafants, is to compound all fuch for
money, which makes their burthens regular,
however heavy they may be ; and when this
Xy'ftem is extended as far as it will go, it in-
cludes the tenures of land 5 fo that all the
cflates
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 243
reflates are lett on leafe, and the landlord'^
whole propertypays him a regular intereft in
money : this is the highefl advantage that
can any where be made of the foil -, it will
•in this cafe always be beft cultivated, and
yield a greater total prpduft than in any other
iyftem, at the fame, time that many more
people are maintained than in any other way.
It is not at all neceffary that a country ihould
be free, in order for this fyflem to reign; it is
.as general throughout France, and the arbi-
trary governments in Italy, as it is in England .
The people, it is true, may be oppreffed; but
then the opprelllon is different : in France,
the proportion of taxes paid by the farmers
and peafants is quite out of all proportion to
;the other clalfes of the people ; but then
there is a regularity in their burthens, which
renders them bearable. Taxes upon land,
cattle, crops, or on whatever they may be laid,
muft in their nature have fomething of regu-
larity and proportion in them -, but the per-
fonal fervice, in which the lower ranks of
Poland are kept, is a mere flavery, fuch a
defpotifm as the planters in the Weil-Indies
ufe over their African flaves. Compart
with this, the opprejTed {late of the Ruffian
peafants is an abfolute freedom; belides
R ;s which.
244 TRAVELS THROUGH
which, there are many farmers who hire
their lands by tenures.
The 2 1 ft carried me about forty miles to
Elbing j the country all fandy, yet tolerably
well cultivated. It is remarkable that buck-
wheat, upon thefe fands, very often yields as
profitable a produce as wheat on the beft
•foils : they get five or fix quarters an acre off
it, and the flraw they reckon excellent food
for their cattle in winter. Swedifh turneps
they alfo raife to advantage upon them ; and
tillage is fo eafy, from the lightnefs of the
draught, that they plough their land, after
the firft time, with a fmgle horfe or cow : but
this ploughing with cows is only while they
are dry, they do not ufe them while they
give milk. Elbing is, next to Dantzick, the
mofl confiderable town in Polifh Pruflia : it
is a pretty, neat, and well-built place, with a
trade that is fufficient to give a brifk circula-
■tion of money among the inhabitants : they
load many fliips in a year, fometimes above
thirty fail, with corn, timber, potatoes, and
hides. It is always itriking, in every little
town, to fee the fuperiority that refults from
trade : a fmall commerce gives a circulation
and a wealth, that ditfufes happincfs through
: every clafs of the people -, the houfes are bet-
ter built, new ones-^are. ereded, and every
body
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 245
body lives well. But in a country town,
fupported by nothing but the agriculture
around it, every thing is the contrary ; the
houfes are poorly built, many are fallen into
ruin, and all ranks of the people are poor and
unhappy. Such are the confequences of
bringing commerce into a country, w^hich
never fails of giving a new appearance to
^very obje6l.
The 2 2d I arrived at the famous city of
Dantzick; thediftance about forty miles. I
crofTed feveral branches of the Viftula, part
of the couutry being within the liberties of
the city. This territory, though a poor fandy
foil, is moil highly cultivated, and fliews, in
every acre, the infinite advantages which
refult from liberty and wealth. The burghers
have their villas in this territory; and all of
them have farms, which they manage in a
manner much fuperior to the hufbandry that
is to be feen any where elfe in Poland. I faw
fome very fine fields of wheat on this appa-
rently barren fand, which, I dare fay, the moft
fertile land in Poland does not exceed : this
was owing to manure brought from Dantzick,
fuch as dung of all forts, aihes, the fvveepings
of the fireets, the offals of the Ihops, &c.
\vhich being carried out of the city unto
heaps, is fold into the country by the public
R 3 fcavengersi
246 TRAVELS THROUGH
fcavengers; moft of it is bought by the
bantzickers for their farms ; and they raife
by this means as fine corn, &c. on their poor
fand, as the richeit foils yield that are not
equally manured.
Dantzick is a very confiderable city, well
fituated on the mouth of the Viftula, with a
very advantageous harbour for all but the
largeft fliips. It very much refembles Ham-
burgh, both in the loftinefs of the houfes,
the manner of building them, and in the nar-
rownefs of the ftreets. The ftreets and houfes
are much cleaner than any others in this part
of the world; but neatnefs is not carried to
the length it is in Holland. The principal
ftreets are planted on each fide in the Dutch
way, which is an inftance of ill tafte in the
original, which one cannot but be furprifed
at ever feeing copied. The city is not large,
the circumference not exceeding three miles :
it is fortified with a wall and a double ditch;
but the flrength alone that is its fecurity, is
the intereft of all their neighbours that the
place fhould continue free : in which circum-
flance it is in the fame predicament'as Ham-
burgh. Two thoufand regular troops, excel-
lently provided and armed, would be a very
weak garrifon; but they have not feven hun-
dred to fpare, and thofe neither in difcipline,
arms.
"POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 247
^rms, or magazines, comparable to the fame
number of men in any regular fervice in Eu-
rope. In a word, Dantzick has a ftrength to
refift nobody but the Poles. They have an
arfenai full of ufelefs arms, and talk of pof-
fefling two or thr^ hundred pieces of cannon ;
but a great train of artillery may be as inlig-
nificant, as thefe are of Dantzick, as a maga*
zine of match locks.
But the commerce of this city is the objedl
that is alone worth attention ; it poOeffing,
tliey reckon, fixteen out of twenty parts of all
the trade of Poland. This is by means of
the river Viilula, and its numerous branches^
which fpread through a vafl extent of that
kingdom, and are navigable almoft wherever
they go. The great article of export is corn,
and particularly wheat ; they fend off fome
years to the amount of five, fix, and {evtn
hundred thoufand pounds; and once the
amount arofe to one million two hundred and
forty thoufand pounds. Gf late years the
quantity is much declined, and, lince the
prefent troubles in Poland, has been very
trifling; fo that the total^ lafl year, itv/as faid,
did not amount to one hundred thoufand
pounds. AH the corn comes in floops and
flat- bottomed barges, that carry from thirty
to lixty tons, and fome more, and wholly on
R 4 account
24S TRAVELS THROUGH
account of the landlord?, who are all nobles
by virtue of their pofi'elTing lands. It is raifed
on their eftates by their peafants, who, as I
before obferved, are all flaves ; fo that the Poles
maybe faid to farm their whole eftates, what-
ever be the extent: the barges are their own
generally, and the watermen that navigate
them are fome of them their vaflals, and others
freemen, whom they hire in the cities and
towns on the river. It is fold to merchants
at Dantzick, who lodge it in their granaries,
which are more capacious than thofe of any
town in Europe, fome of them eight ftories
high. The boats bring, befides corn, all the
other articles of fale which the Polifh eftates
produce, particularly pot-a£h, mafts, plank
for fhip-building, pipe flaves, which are bet-
ter than thofe of Hamburgh, bees-wax in
large quantities, fome hemp and flax, and for-
merly much of it manufadured into facking,
packing cloths, and even linen ; but this of
late years is much declined : of all thefe ar-
ticles, to the amount of three or fourhundre4
thoufand pounds, but fometimes not near fo
much. Tbe boats, on their return, carry
back to the nobles, cities, and towns, all the
commodities and manufadlures which they
want. Among thefe are reckoned, iron fi'om
Sweden, of which they once took two thour
fand
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 249
fand tons a year, but the import is fallen to
athoufandi Eaft India goods of allforts, ma-
fadures of woollen and fine linens, filks,
brandy, wines, &c. The Dutch have all the
fupply of India goods, and moft of that of
linen and woollen ; and the French the prin-
cipal part of the filks, brandy, wines, and
all the Weft India commodities. As to
England, her trade with Dantzick is very
inconfjderable, which is entirely owing to
our taking off very few of her commodities ;
we never pay money for what plank, pot-
a(h, or hemp we import -, and when wheat
is fo dear in England, that foreign corn is
admitted, our merchants have fometimes fent
many fhips thither to load with wheat, and
have paid for their cargoes with our manu-
factures, of which none are fo acceptable m
Poland as the hardware goods of Birming-
ham, Sheffield, Rotherham, &c.
Making ufe of a letter of recommendation,
which I had brought from the Count Selliern,
to Mr. Pratfky, a very eminent merchant at
Dantzick, and one whofe great wealth fliews
Jiow well he underftands the trade of the city,
gave me an opportunity not only of getting
the preceding particulars upon better authority
than I could otherwife have done, but, at the
fame time, enabledme to make fome enquiries
CpncerningtheprefentflateofPoland.refpeft-
inff
250 TRAVELS' THROUGH
ing the fa6lious views and defigns of the fe-
veral parties which at prefent hariafs that
kingdom. I had for three years paft read much
concerning them in the public prints of many
countries, but could never clearly underftand
the real fiate of the kingdom till I travelled
from the Ukraine to Peterfburg. The ac-
count he gave me was this :
" Poland is divided into two grand parties,
the Roman Catholicks, and the Protectants
and Greeks. The former, for fome ages paft,
have omitted (as has been the cafe in every
country of Europe) no opportunities of op-
prefling the latter, and depriving them of
that religious liberty to which they have a
right by the conftitution of the kingdom.
Thefe opprefiions and invafions of privileges
begot confederacies of nobles, profeffing the
Reformed or Greek religions, who entered
into compacts for the defence of their faith,
and declaring a full refufal to acknowledge
any fovereignty, until their complaints were
redrelTed, This ftroke was copied immedi-
ately in moft parts of the kingdom where
thofe religious are found. This gave rife to
counter confederacies of the Roman Catho-
llck nobles, with this addition, that they, in
their agreement, declared all who did not
accede to it to be enemies to the kingdom.
A
J
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 251
A civil war immediately commenced : RuiTiaa
troops, which had long been in the kingdom,
were greatly inereafed, upon the Emprefs's
declaring, in a general manifefto, her protec-
tion of the Greek and Reformed religion ;
and all parts of the kingdom were immedi-
ately in arms. In this war, the King, who
difliked the whole of thefe proceedings, has
been neuter ; though it is very well known
that the Ruffians are his friends, and that
tkeiir power preferves him on the- throne.
"Tht fuccefs of the war was at firft various ;
but everywhere the effect of it was deftroy-
ing and plundering each other's eftates, and
utterly ruining aconfiderablepart of the king-
dom. In the plunder taken on either fide,
the peafants are always the moft valuable part:
fuch as are not armed by their mafters, but
remain at home to cultivate the land, are,
upon a fkirmiih or incurfion which proves
fuccefsful, carrie-d oiF, and planted upon the
victors lands, where they are moil feverely
treated, if they do not immediately conform
to the religion of their new mafters. Such a
fyftem of making war, which has now ra^
vaged Poland three years with great violence., ,
it may eafily be fuppofed, is well enough cal-
culated for reducing the whole kingdom to the
condition of a dcfart. The Ruffians have in
general
252 TRAVELS THROUGHT
general been too hard for their enemies, and
have cut in pieces a great number of their
confederacies as faft as they are formed ; upon
which occafion the counter-reformed Poles
enter and utterly deftroy their eftates, carry-
ing off the peafants, and fixing them upon
their own lands ; and many are fent into Ruffia
from almoft every expedition, which, of all
the reft, are thofe only who have any chance
of being fixed out of the reach of conftant re-
volutions. This is the prefent fiate of the
kingdom : more than half of it has been laid
wafte fince the war began ; and what threat-
ens the whole is, the number of Roman Ca-
tholic confederacies, which are formed as faft
as the Ruffians deftroy the old ones. Nothing
canbringany degree of peace to the kingdom,
but the Emprefs increafing her troops to fuch
a number, as to make a conqueft of all the
Roman Catholic part of the kingdom : and
this would give umbrage, it is thought, to
other powers, although fome of them have
declared in favour of the Reformed Greek
caufe 5 that is, in favour of liberty of con-
fcience. While the prefent war lafls between
Ruflia and Turkey, the Emprefs cannot fpare
either troops or money for fuch a plan ;
but if a peace is concluded with the Porte,
we
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 253
we may then look for more decifive mea-
fures."
Upon my afking him his fentiments of the
Ruffian acqiiilitions, and their keeping poflef-
iion of fo many provinces, driving away the
Polifh nobiUty from their eftates, and carry-
ing moft of the peafants into Ruflla ; inti-
mating that I thought the Emprefs had a
fair chance of acquiring fomething impor-
tant j he rephed, " I do not apprehend that
the Emprefs of Ruffia will think of feizing
any Pohlh provinces, becaufe that would
make not only all moderate perfons, and all
well-wifhers to their country among the
Poles, her implacable enemies, but would
deprive her of the ftrongefl pretence fhe has
of interfering, and thereby governing Po-
land : at the fame time, it would bring her
into a war with Pruffia and Auftria, for nei-
ther of thofe powers would fee fuch Ruffian
acquilitions, and fit by quietly. The aims
of that Princefs, which I have little doubt are
thofe of a true politician, are to fupport the
party of her own religion, and prevent their
being oppreiTed, and to gain fuch a general
power in the kingdom, as to have her will be
treated, in all great national meafures, with
due refpe6t. Her carrying av/ay the Polifh
peafants to people her crown lands, is mofc
certainly
854 ^kAVUtS TEIROI^OH
certainly a veiy political condud; ; for fhe
will add thereby equally to her flrength and
wealth."
M. Pratiky inlifted on my taking a dinner
with him, which I did. He has a large and
convenient houfe, well furnifhed, and-miack
in the Englifli manner. His wife is an agree-^
able, fen fible woman, a native of Silefia,
who talked politicks inceiTantly, and was a
flrenvious advocate for the King of Pruilia.
They hada beautiful younglady, their daugh-
ter, v*^ho entertained me on the harpficliord,
Dahfzick being pretty well fupplid with
niuficians from Germany. M. Pratfky lives
elegantly,but in the German manner, which
is all the tafte there : they fit long at their meals,
and drink very heartily: and among all the
nations that are fond of the pleafures of the
lable, there is always much fociety, and a
•defire of pleafuig, which does inftead of the
more refined manners of the fouthern coun-
tries. Mifs Pratfky, and other ladies I law,
aim in their drefs, I obferved, at an imitation
of the French tafte, but I cannot fay I could
ever admire any imitations, even in drcfs :
whatever nation affeds to follow the taftcof
another, will never make any other figure
than that of an halting copyer, who Ihcvvs as
nUich aukwardnefs as falhion. The Engli(h
never
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 25-
never makefuch fools of themfelves, as when
they copy the French in their drefs ; the two
nations are of different genius, and different
manners ; we never come up to the extrava-
gance of the original -, our copy is always
tame : go from London to Paris, you are in
a new world; you find what was called French
to be a miferable defe6live copy of a mifera-
ble original.
During my ftay at Dantzick I was at the
Golden Crown, a very good inn, lately fitted
up and kept by a Dutchman; he charges very
reafonably, and fupplied me with good fifli
very frefii, and his wines are excellent, par-
ticularly old hock.
The 26th I left Dantzick and took the road
for Warfaw, in the province of Plofcow. I
was informed, there were feveral parties of
confederates, and much fkirm idling, I there-
fore took the advantage of travelling with a
Dantzick burgomafler, going on public bu-
finefs to the King, with a company of foldicrs
for his guard. That day we travelled above
forty miles to Kirchow, afmall town through
a fandy track of country, but with many vil-
lages in it. The next day we got to Culm,
once a famous place and a ha'nfe-town, but it
has long been in decay, and is now, though
adarge place, filled with nothing but beggars
and
2:56 TRAVELS THROUGH
and ruins. The fituation is upon a hill, and
would, if the town was well built, be very plea-
lant. From hence we pafled the 28 th through
Thorn to Wladiflaw ; the former of thefe
towns was a hanfe, and a noted place for
trade before that of Dantzick, but moft of its
commerce and inhabitants are gone ; it has
fcill, however, a good appearance, the ftreets
are broad, flrait, and fome of them well paved,
and the houfes large and handfome : here is
yet fome trade by means of the Viftula, which
is what keeps the place from the ruin into
which fo many others have fallen. The country
we palled is not fandy, but feems to be a good
loam, and the appearance of the corn indi-
cates good hufbandry, but many eftates are
quite defolate : we went through three vil-
lages that had been reduced to aflies more
than a year ago, and no figns yet of being re-
built. Wladiflaw is a pretty well built town
alfo on the Vifliula ; the only buildings in it
that are of any note is the Cathedral, it being
the fee of a bifliop, an old Gothic edifice ; and
the bifliop's palace, which has been much
damaged by a fiege the town flood.
The 29th we went ^o miles to Plockfkow,
on the banks of the river, except where
marflnes prevent; the furrounding country is
a very rich foil, and not having fuffered from
an
1>0LAND and PRUSSIA. 257
.'an enemy, fhewed many figns of good culti-
'vation: great champain tracks of open coun-
try are covered with wheat, which looked very
Well : the ploughs were bufy in preparing
for barley ; no oats are cultivated here. The
land feemed very well tilled by a couple of
•little horfes and two oxen ; but the ploughs
are of a mofl: aukward conflrudion, and the
peafants know not how to turn a ftraight fur-
row; they go as crooked as can well be ima-
gined, which is difagreeable to look at, tho%
I apprehend, not the worfe for the corn. They
fow a good deal of hemp and flax in this
neighbourhood, which they are very well ii-
tuated for fending, with their corn, to Dant-
zick. Wheat produces two quarters an acre ;
barley three, and peaie two and an half. An
acre of hemp, or of flax, is worth about fifty
fhillings. They have large herds of cattle,
which they feed in fummer upon the marfties
on the Viftula; and in winter upon cabbages
and turneps, which they always boil in the
German manner before they give them to the
cattle : this is not of much confequence
where wood is fo plentiful; but in England
would do only in the neighbourhood of coal
mines. But it is highly Worthy of trial, to
fee how it would anfwer to follow this cuflom;
becaufe, if one acre boiled goes as far as three
Vol. IIL S ^r
258 TRAVELS THROUGH
or four raw, which I have heard it does, there
are many fituations in which it would be very
advifeable. We pafled near a nobleman's man-
sion, furrounded by a double moat full of
water, and fome cannon mounted on the bat-
tlements : my fellow-traveller told me, that
this caftle had been often befieged by the op-
pofite party; but the nobleman driving all his
peafants and cattle immediately in, had yet
been fuccefsful in repelling them, which
feems to be the only fyftem of life in Poland
for any perfon to have the leall: fecurity; but
©f late he has had the fortune to efcape any
ravages, and is remarkable for the induftry
and attention with which he cultivates his
cflate, and takes a moft fatherly care of all
the peafants on it. This is a very rare inftanqe
in Poland ; for they are generally ufed, as I have
often obferved, in a moil oppreflive manner;
■fe^t the good effe<51: of this contrary treatment
is ex^tremely vifible in the cafe of this noble-
man, who, with only a fmall eftate, com-
pared with many in the kingdom, has by
ineans of a regular and confident condud to-
wards his vaflals, and by a conftant attention
to the culture of his land, been able to lave
much money; part of which he has laid out
in fortifying his caftle, which has more than
once preferved his property and his pcafiints,
and
^QLAND AND PRUSSIA. 259
and the reil is lodged in the bank of Dant-
zlck.
The 30th we reached Zadrzin, which is a
flage of more than forty miles, through a
very fine rich country, part of which is fully
cultivated. They fbw very large quantities of
wheat and barley, but no rye, or oats, peafe
gr beans; they fallow their lands for wheat,
and alfo lay all their dung in for it, and af-
terwards take two fucceflive crops of barley;
ploughing thrice for each. Wheat yields four
quarters an acre, and bailey three. They
alio fbw ibme hemp and flax, and get as fine
crQ{)S as any in Poland. The country is di-
vided into four eftate^, and has efcaped being
plundered, which is owing, I fuppofe, to the
vicinity of the capital, where there has gene-
rally been a pretty ftrong garriibn. All this
country on the Viftula, and between Dant-
zick and Warfaw, is the beft fituated of any in
Poland; for the voyage to the former city is
ihort, and there are many populous and con-
fiderable towns, particularly Warfaw, which
take off large quantities of the products at a
good market, which is an advantage of the
moft valuable kind.
From Zadrzin is only forty miles to War-
faw, the road running all the way within fight
of the Viftula; in fome places there are Ikirt-
S % ing
26o TRAVELS THROUGH
2iig marflies, but m others all through an
arable country. This we travelled the ift
of May, arriving at that city in the afternoon.
It is the feat of government, the capital of the
kingdom, and the refidence of the King; yet
there is nothing ftriking in it. ' The ftreets
are many of them crooked and ill paved, the
buildings have little of elegance in them, tho*
k>me of them are new ones ; there are a few
which make a tolerable fhew *, thefe are houfes
belonging to the Polifh nobles, who make
Warfaw their winter refidence. The royal
palace is a noble edifice, being, beyond com-
parifon, the fineft building in Poland. The
apartments are very fpacious, and fome of
them new fitted up and furnifhed in the Eng-
lifh manner, being executed by the London
artifts, brought from thence at the king's ex-
pence. The room they call the Hall of Vic-
tory, from formerly having been a hall, is
converted into a faloon hung with tapeftry
fromBrufiels; the ceiling, pannels,door-cale&,
and window frames all neatly executed in
white carving, gilt: the rooms are very nu-
merous-, and all the offices for a court ex-
tremely convenient. And here let me ob-
•terve, that notwithflandiiig the prelent trou-
bles which diftradl the kingdom, yet tlierc
■LS a magnificence and a brilliancy dii-
played around the King of Poland, which
fuits
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 261
fuits very ill with the ftate of his mind, than
which, by all accounts, nothing can be more
unhappy. His Majefly is certainly a man of
quick parts, and has a truly patriotic con-
cern for the miferies of his kingdom, which
he is utterly unable to prevent : the ftate, in
which he lives is the regular court, which the
republick maintains for all its kings ; and it
is fo much a piece of republican magnifi-
cence, that the King has not ail the offices
in it in his own power. The court days do
not exhibit any great circle of Polifh lords;
the moft confiderable in the kingdom are not
only in oppofition to the crown, but even in
open arms againft it : but the officers who
are obliged to attend the nobles of the King's
party, foreign minifters, and Ruffian officers,
all together fill the room pretty well. There
is a Polifh regiment of guards, of a thouiand
inen,difcipUned in the Pruffian manner, ralfed
by the prefent King, and he often reviews,
them ; the officers as well as private men are
Poles, but none of them nobles ; they are
collected from all the other clafTes, and de-
pend abfolutely on the will of the King: this
is a meafure which was brought about by de-
grees, and with great art; it has been of un-
common confequence to the King, for by
means of this body of troops he has been able
S 3 to
262 TRAVELS THkOUGH
to move into feveral parts of the kingdom,
without the guard of a Ruffian army, which
is a moft unpopular, though a very necefliary
meafure at prelent: it is not clearly known
from what fund the King is able to pay this
regiment, though his oeconomy and private
fortune would, in better tirnes, accomplifh it;
but the public revenue, in the midfl of the
prefent confufions, fuffers extremely. If he
is able to augment this corps by degrees, in-
troducing none but men of low birth, mefe
foldiers of fortune, and abfolutely dependent
on him, it may in time be a means of giving
him an authority, which no other meafure
will ever bring about; for Poland will never
fee times of tolerable order, till her kings
have abundantly more power than at prefent,
and nothing but force will ever give theni
that power.
The fortifications at Warfaw ate fufficient
to prevent the town being infulted by flying
parties, or fmall armies, but could not ftand
a fiege of any duration againfl an army well
provided : it has two good walls, flanked by
many baftions, and tolerably lined with ar-
tillery; the ditch is broad and deep, and the
waters of the Viflub may be let into it at
plealure ; but the extent of thefe fortlficar
^ons is too great to be defended effecflunlly
with
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 263
With kfs than eight thoufand men. Warfaw
is populous; its being the capital of Poland
always brought great numbers to fettle in it ;
but the miferable ftate of moil of the other
towns in the kingdom has lately increafed it
very much, fb that the number of its inhabi-*
tants are now computed to be above eighty
thoufand « There are at prefent in it many
Polifh families, once in affluence, but now re«
duced to live in a very mean way : I am tald,
that leveral cities in the Queen of Hungary's^
and King of Pruffia's dominions are alio full
of them; Dantzick and Koningiburg, I know
are. To what a fhocking flate is this fine coun-
try reduced I wholly by the furious zeal of
Roman- catholiek bifhops, who would never
be fatisfied without the total deflrudlion of
the Proteftants and Greeks.
Upon our journey from Dantzick we met
with a fmall party that attacked us, and
were more than once in fight of a band -of
robbers, who would have deflrayed us, had
we been lefs guarded. This determined me
in the journey I propofed making to Breflaw,
to wait till I could go in fbme company that
would be a protection. Fortunately this of-
fered in a week, by the Dutch relident return-
ing home by the route of Breflaw: he had a
party of Ruflian foldiers for his proteClion,
S 4 and
264 TRAVELS THROUGH
and I was informed that I Ihould lay in
plenty of provifions and wine for our journey,
as we (hould pafs through a country that was
nine parts in ten deflroyed. The 7th of May
we fet out, and reached Rava the 9th ; the
diftance about threefcore miles; the firfl five
from Warfaw under cultivation, but all the
reft one continued defart, and as pitiable a
fight as could well be feen. This line of
country was not long fince well peopled, and
as well cultivated as any in Poland; which I
could fee by the numerous ruins of villages,
fingle cottages, and feats, fome quite deftroy-
ed others tumbling down, and many in
aihes: the country had moft of it been arable,
but the plough had no longer any bufinefs
here; all the territory prefented one face of
defolation, the fields over- run with weeds,
and becoming grafs, without any cattle to
feed on them. Rava was once a pretty town,
and well peopled, but it is now a heap of
ruins; out of ten thoufand people that once
lived here, there does not remain above feven-r
teen houfes inhabited, and thofe by fome
miferable creatures, too old to fly from the
jnisfortunes of their town.
From Rava to Sirad is one hundred miles;
in which track of country, though it evidently
{las all been cultivated, we faw but three vlU
lagcs
POLAND AND PRUSSIA. 265
kges Inhabited ; all the reft burnt, and the
people gone ; the inhabitants of thefe yet
venture to till a fmall quantity of land : we
faw a little wheat, and feveral ploughs turn-
ing in barley ; but who will reap it, the
feedfmen little know. It is aftonifhing, that
the country from Dantzick to Warfaw fhould
efcape fo well, while this has fuffered fo fe-
verely. I there faw many devastations 5 but
they are nothing, compared with the condi-
tion of thefe territories. Sirad was in arms
both within and without the walls; we there-
fore made a detour to the left, and palled it.
From thence to the boundary of Silelia is
about forty miles; all which is one continued
fcene of ruin. This is a journey of near
two hundred miles; and a more melancholy
one can fcarcely be travelled. Moderately
fpeaking, I do not believe there are five
thoufand fouls left in the whole country,
3irad excepted, the ftate of which town we
were acquainted with : you may every
where trace the plough ; fome fields wholly
ploughed, others half, others jufl: began, but
all over- run with weeds and grafs ; iome re-
rriains of corn on the ground that never was
reaped; houles, barns, ftables, and all build-
ings, either burnt doy/n, or failing for want
of
266 TRAVELS THROUGH
of repairs. Imagination cannot paint any
fcene nnore dreadful. Thofe landlords only
are tolerably off who fled to Germany at the
beginning of the troubles, and live in expec-
tation of peace, when they may return to their
eftates; the property of them is left, and will,
on a pacification, enable them to recover
themfelves : but others, who, in their de-
fence, or to fave their buildings from fire,
bought off their enemies, met their fate at
laft, and cannot return without the load of
debts; fo that new buildings and fettlements
will be impra6licable to them. I was affured,
that there are fome hundreds of effates in the
kingdom at prefent, without any owners
exiffing, fo many whole families having beea
deilroyed.
Tra-
Travels through Germany,
[ 2% 3
CHAP, VIII.
Silefia — Brejlaw — Journey to Berlin — The
Country — Agriculture — Defcription of Ber-
I'm — Prefent State of the King of Prujpa's
Forces, Revenues, &c. — -Saxony — Leipjick — «
Drefden— State of the Elediorate.
NOTHING could be more ftriklng-,
than the different appearance of Sileiia
from that of Poland. We entered it at the
13th, and found the country full of villages,
half of which, at leaft, were peopled with
Poles; the land all cultivated, and much of it
extremely well ; the houfes and cottages in
good repair, with all the appearances of eafe
and happinefs ; which formed fuch a contraft
to the wretchednefs we had fo lately ieen,
that the view had the effect of making Silefia
appear a paradife. Much of this muft cer-
tainly be occalioned by the great increafe of
population, from fuch numbers of Poles, who
fly to efcape the miferies that every where
defolate and lay wafie their own co\intry.
The King of Pruffia has officers appointed
•along all his frontiers, to fee that ail theie
poor people are received, and to provide cot-
tages for them as fall as poffibie. In this
= work
270 TRAVELS THROUGH
work the King is at no expence ; he only
grants them permiffion to build cottages on
any waftes or comnaons that are not abfolute
property; ^nd hi^ edi£t diredls, that evefv
neighbourhood fhould give all due afliflancc
to the new fettlers, and find them employ-
ment in hufbandry or manufa£i:ures, after the
rate of the country; and for the maintenance
of flich as do not find employment, he dire£ls
^ tax to be laid on the diftridl ; but this can-
jiot be lafting, as they have portions of land
affigned them, fufficient for their maintenance
when brought into culture. Upon the waftes
belonging to the crown, thefe portions are
confiderable enpugh to form, when cultivated,
fmall farms, that hereafter will yield the
crown a good rent. I faw many of thefe
poor people, and it is hardly credible how
much they feemed to enjoy themfelves, on
efcaping the miferies of Poland, and finding
fuch an humane protection in the territories
of the neighbouring princes. 1 am informed
that the Emprefs Queen receives them in the
fame manner in Moravia, Auftria, and Hun-
gary; many of them are in Tranfilvania. All
the King of Pruflia's long line of frontier,
from the bottom of Silefiato Livonia, is open
to them; and great numbers take refuge in
every part of it. I before gave an account of
the
GERMANY. a^i
the multitudes to whom the Emprefs of
Ruffia gave proteftion; if all this is confider-
ed, itnauil at once be apparent, that the king-
dom of Poland mufl be amazingly depopu-
lated,, iince it cannot be doubted but feverai
millions of people, probably not lefs than
three or four, are driven out of the country, or
killed. Such a depopulation will takeleveral
ages to recover; and ftili this evil continues,
without any appearance of its coming to
aii end ; fo that what the event will be, ex-
cept leaving that county a mere delart, is
very difficult to know.
We travelled thirty miles before we reached
Breflaw. All this line of country is rich ei-
ther in corn, meadow, or wood ; the arable
lands feemed very well cultivated ; the wheat
looked well, and the quantity of land occu-
pied with it is coniiderable : they alio culti-
vate rye : the barley was all coming up, aiijd
feemed to promifee good crops ; they do not
fow any oats ; but they cultivate many cab-
bages as winter food for their cattle, and they
reckon them much better, and to lafl longer
thanturneps: potatoes tbey plant in large
quantities for Breflaw, which city confumes
a great deal of all the produdts of the earth ;
a vaft advantage to all the neighbouring
country: the {mall potatoes they fatten their
hogs
272 TRAVELS THROUGH
hogs with. The river Oder is navigable there,
which is another great benefit to the country,
always keeping the markets brifk, which, of
all other circumftances, is the moft certain
means of introducing good hufbandry. The
cafe and happinefs of the peafants in this
country is the more furprizing, as their taxes
are very heavy, and carry as much into the
King's coffers almoft, as into their own
pockets. It can be attributed only to the re-
gularity of his Pruffian majefty's government;
for that monarch looks fo much into all his
affairs, that there is no fuch thing in his do-
minions as irregular oppreffion: no minifler,
no officer, dares to lay the hand of power on
the defencelefs poor ; the King is their pro-
testor, and they had better be heavily taxed
bv him, than pay lefs, but be open with it
to thofe numerous and accidental oppreflions
common in all other arbitrary governments.
Breflaw is a very extenfive and well built
city: it is mofl advantageoufly fituated on the
Oder, upon the banks of which are fome very
fme ftreets ; they are ftrait, well paved, and
with many very well built houfes. There
are feveral fquares in it, and many public
buildings, worthy the attention of a traveller;
among which are feveral churches, the Jefuits
college, the town-houfe, the arfenal, the
quay.
GERMANY. 273
quay, 6cc. It is a bi{hop*s fee, but the cathe-
dral has nothing remarkable in it : alfo the
feat of an univerlity, which has for fome time
been in a flourilhing fituation. It was pretty
ftrongly fortified in the lafl war ; has a good
wall, a double ditch, feveral baftions and
ravelins, and a ilrong citadel ; but the works
are fo extenfive, that they require an army to
defend them. The King keeps a garrifon
here of ten thoufand men; they are drawn up
in the great fquare every day, and go thro*
their exercifes, being as well-difciplined regi-
ments as any in the King's fervice. There
certainly refults from this ftrong garrifon, and
the others throughout Silefia, which are ^11
proportionably numerous, great fecurity, of
which the laft war was a very flriking proof;
for, undoubtedly, the king owed his preferva-
tion to the excellent order all his fortrefTes were
in, and the numerous garrifons they were fur-
nifhed with: had the Auftriansmethim unpre-
pared, they would have at leafl wrefted Silefia
from him, and perhaps have made fome im-
preffionuponhis hereditary dominions. There
are many churches and convents in the city ;
but I did not hear of any thing in them that
was particularly worthy of attention. There
is a great trade carried on here by means of
Vol. III. T the
274 TRAVELS THROUGH
the Oder, and efpecially fince the canal was
cut between that and the Elbe, which com-
municates with Hamburg. The articles in
which this commerce is particularly carried
on, are linen and flax, corn, timber, plank,
&c. all which are ftaple commodities in Si-
lefia, and produced in very great plenty. Moft
of the flaves which form fo great an export at
Hamburgh come from this duchy j and the
quantity of oak timber and plank, which is
exported from it, is very confiderable. Upon
all thefe articles the King lays a duty on the
exportation 3 which is a piece of wrong poli-
tics, and of fo flagrant a nature, that would
make one think his abilities were thofe of a
warrior alone. The trade of Breflawhas declin-
ed a little fmce the troublesbroke out inPoland ;
for in times of tranquility in that kingdom,
this province exports large quantities of goods
thither, particularly linens, of which the
Poles buy more than any other nation ; but
fmce the commencement of the civil war,
they have been too much impoverifhed to be
able to purchafe any quantity worth men-
tioning.
The manufa6lure of linen in Silefia is very
confiderable: it employs many thoufands of
neople, enriches the whole duchy, and brings
in a very confiderable revenue to the King.
Molt
GERMANY. .275
Moll of the linens which are bleached at
Haerlem in Holland, and afterwards are fo
well kaown ander the name of Dutch, are
made in Silefia: formerly immenfe quantities
were confumed in England; but iince the
great fuccefs which has attended the fabricks
of Ireland and Scotland, this impolitic impor-
tation is come to nothing, and thereby vaffc
iums faved to Great-Britain. At this
place I leflened my expences of travelling
confiderably, by paying off all my attendants,
except my old Swifs, Martin, who has rode
through the beft part of Europe with me.
The 1 6th I left Brellaw, taking a pofl-
chaife to Steinau, on the Oder : the diftance
thirty miles. This line of country is remark-
ably fine, fully cultivated, and in general well
peopled. Landed property here is much di-
vided : here and there is found an old baron's
eftate of great extent, around an old caftle,
with all the marks of antiquity and grandeur;
but in general the lands belong to perfons
enriched by trade and manufadures, which
has had one excellent effeft, that of diffufmg
much more liberty among the peafants than,
they have in other parts. Upon thefe ellates
the lands are let in farms, as in England, and
the peafants, not being vaflals tQ tenants, are
T 2 bired
276 TRAVELS THROUGH
hired in the manner of our day-labourers,
which is the fyflem of all others the mofl
beneficial. A common rent, in their farms,
is from {even to eleven fhillings an acre :
wheat yields two quarters an acre ; barley
three ; buck-wheat four : the flax grounds
are all inclofed by ditches, and they reckon
an acre that yields three pounds a very good
one. They keep all their cattle in winter in
houfes, and feed them with boiled cabbages
and ftraw. They lay raoft of the manure
they make upon their cabbage grounds, in the
culture of which plant they feem to be very
attentive. They make great ufe of mud from
the Oder as a manure, and value it fo much,
that they go feveral miles for it. They
plough their land with oxen ; the ftrudlure of
their ploughs is remarkable; they feem, from
the height of the wheels, to be very well in-
flru6led in the dodrine of the lever.
The 17th I reached Grumberg, through
forty- five miles of very indifferent road; din-
ing at Glogau, a pretty town, agreeably fitu-
tuated on the Oder, very ftrongly fortified,
andalwaysgarrifonedwithtwothoufandmen.
It was anciently the refidence of the dukes of
Glogau, and there are remains of their palace
in the caftle. The cathedral is a very ancient
and
GERMANY. 277
and a fine building. They have (bme linen
fabricks, and a good trade on the Oder. The
country around it, and quite to Grumberg,
is various, confiding of woods, arable, mea-
dow, fome wafte, and alfo feme marih land.
The villages are not very thick, and the pea-
fan ts do not feem to be fo well off as thofe
nearer to Brellaw; what the reafon is, I
could not difcover.
My next day's journey, was thirty miles,
through Croflen to Frankfort on the Oder.
CrofTen is the capital of a territory of the
fame name : it is a very well-built town, hav-
ing been rebuilt after a great fire, which
happened at the beginning of this century :
the ftreets are ftrait, broad, and well paved ;
it is adorned with an handfome town-houfe,
and five churches, one of which makes agood
figure, being fituated in the middle of a
fquare.
Frankfort is in Brandenburg, and was once
one of the moll conliderable cities in the
Empire, being an hanfe town, and an Im-
perial city j but it has loft moft of its privi-
leges. It is divided into the old and new
town by the Oder, over which there is a
handfome bridge, inftead of an old wooden
one, which was burnt in the laft war. The
T 3 ftreets
iy^' TRAVELS THROUGH
flreets are handfome, and manyof thehoufes
make a good figure, efpecially thofe which
have been built fince the laft war. Their
trade is confiderable, both with Berlin, Ham^
burgh, the Baltic, and all Silefias and before
the war raged in Poland, with that kingdom
alfo ; fo that it is one of the richeft places in
the King's dominions. They have an univer*
fity, but it is not very well flocked with ftu-
dents of any confequence, though they have
two well-built colleges. The town-houfe is
an handfome building j and the arfenal is
large and well filled. The moft agreeable
part of the town is the great market-place,
which is furrounded by the beft houfes in the
place.
The foil around Frankfort is fandy, and
not very well inhabited : there is much wafte
land, which might be cultivated to good pro-
fit, confidering the near neighbourhood of fo
many navigations, but encouragement feems
to be wanting, I made many enquiries con-
cerning the depred;itions of the Ruffians here;
and from the information I could get, I have
reafon to believe that the accounts we had in
England were much exaggerated: they burnt
feme villages, and raifed heavy contributions;
but as to utterly dcftroying a whole track of
country
GERMANY. 279
country it was not true. Another circum-
ftancel fiiould remark, which is, the mif-
chief being all repaired which they did -, for
I have yet feen no figns of any of that ruin
which fell from their hands : this is to be at-
tributed to the good condud of the King of
Pruffia, who, notwithftanding the general fe-
verity of his government, very wifely favour-
ed thofe parts of his dominions that fuffered
moll by war as foon as the peace was
made.
The 1 8th carried me 36 miles to Berlin,
through a continued track of fand, yet tolera-
bly cultivated in fome parts, but much of it a
dreary wafte, and very thinly peopled. They
find that the only very profitable crop upon
thefe fands is buck-wheat, which they few in
large quantities, and they get a produd: which
equals the befl foils applied to that grain :
when a piece of land has been more carefully
managed than ordinary, it will yield a good
crop of rye -, but as to wheat or barley, it is
hardly to be feen.
As I defigned to make fome flay at BerHii
I hired private lodgings -, of which I had as
good for fifteen fliillings a week as would
have coft me five and thirty at London. But
this city is not peopled proportionably to its
T 4 fizcj
aSo TRAVELS THROUGH
fize j hence the general remark, that grafs is
feen in the ftreets, which is, however, only in
one negleded quarter of the town -, the other
parts are very well built ; the flreets are re-
markably fpacious, long, and well paved; and
the buildings in general are fuch as certainly
rank it among the fineft cities in Europe.
Of the public edifices, thofe which are ufually
vilited by travellers are, the royal palace, the
arfenal, the churches of Notre Dame, St,
Nicholas, St. Martin, and the Romifh chapel,
the theatre, the equeftrian Hatue of Fre-
derick the Firft, &c. The palace is a magni^
ficent but an unequal building, like all thofe
* that are raifed at different times : fome of the
apartments are large, and well proportioned ;
but they by no means anfwered my expe6la-
tions, either in dimenlions, fitting up, or fur-
niture. Theimmenfityof filver, remarked by
Mr. Hanway when he was here, was all
melted in the late war, and very little of it is
reftored. Much of the furniture, for a royal
palace, is very mean ; but this we are not to
be furprized at, as the King gives his attention
to fo much greater objedts. Some of the picr
tures are fine. The front of the arfenal would
be very beautiful, but, as the above-men-
tioned traveller juftly obferves, it if profafely
loaded
GERMANY. 281
loaded with ornaments. I viewed the con-,
tents, and was much entertained with themj
for, very contrary to what is fcen in moil
other buildings under this name, here are no
ufelefs arms, nothing but what is ready for
immediate fervice. The train is a very fine
one. The theatre is in a moft grand flile,
admirably contrived to give much magnifi^
cence to the reprefentation of operas. A very
few circumflances excepted, it deferves to be
confidered as a model for theie buildings.
The Romifh chapel is a monfter of difpropor-
tion, but the portico is elegant. The equef-
trian llatue of Frederick the Firfh is a fine
performance j, the horfe is remarkably fine,
and there is much fpirit in the attitude of the
figure.
The fortifications of Berlin are regular; but
the city is of too great extent to have any
thing of ftrength, if attacked by a powerful
army. The number of inhabitants are rec-
koned at about an hundred thoufand. There
is always a garrifon of from eight to twelve
thoufand men in it. Cbarlottenburgh is a
fmall palace within a mile of Berlin ; the
rooms of which are fmall, but very elegant :
it contains nothing that appears very funking
to a traveller; the ball-*rooin is handfome,
but
282 TRAVELS THROUGH
but much exceeded by many others. The
gardens here, as well as at Potfdam, have
nothing In them but regularity, which is dif-
gufting. Sans Souci is a detached apartment
in a garden 5 but nothing of this fort that I
have feen abroad, iscomparable toanumberof
places we have in England : nor do I think
any of thefe palaces and boxes, in the neigh-
bourhood of Berlin are tolerable in tafle : the
only natural beauty they had was the river,
and that is moulded into a canal for them :
they have no verdure; the walks are fand,
and the fituations in general flats.
There is a good deal of commerce carried
on at Berlin, by means of the canals which
join the Spree and the Oder, and the Oder
and the Elbe; by which means there is a moft
advantageous communication with Ham-
burgh, the Baltick, and all Silefia. This is of
great confequenceto the manufadures of Ber-
lin,which are numerous and fiourifhing: they
have fabricks of filk, fluffs, woollen cloths of
feveral forts, and in particular one which
clothes moil of the army; tapeflry, laces,
glafs, a little hardware, &c. The King gives
great encouragement to all manufactures,
which has had a great efle6l in a place where
he found many fabricks, fixed by French
refugees
;. GERMANY. 283
refugees after the revocation of the edid of
Nantes, whofe poflerity now carry on the
principal trade of the city. Bedin fuppjies
Silefia with great quantities of thefe goods ;
and before the civalwar raged in Poland, that
kingdom took off much. They have a fmall
export to the Baltic; formerly to Sweden, but
that is now no more.
I was twice or thrice at court, more to fee
the King than for any other entertainment.
I faw him about nine years ago, and was
much furprized to fhid him fo little altered.
The immenlity of fatigue, both of body and
mind, which he went through during the
laft war, one would have apprehended, muft
have enri:irely broke him ; but he has, by a
regular way of hfe, and great abflemioufnefs,
both then and lince, prevented any ill effeds.
Bodily fatigue maybe phyfick, and mental la-
bour not very defi:ru6live, but anxiety is the
deftroyer, againft which it is very difficult to
guard: for feveral years the King was uncer-
tain of his fate ; vi6tories had little effedt, de-
feats were ruinous, and he could fcarcelycon^
jedure whether he was to be Gripped of fe-
veral provinces, or even his whole dominions.
In fuch a lituation, we may eaiily conceive
that anxiety muft commit great ravages on
him J
284 TRAVELS THROUGH
him ; and I muft own myfelf furprized to fee
his health continue fo good. His principal
amufement is exercifing his troops 3 to fee
them, is one of the moft entertaining fights
at Berhn. It is thought that the King him-
felf has not fo nice an eye as formerly to the
m'muti^ of the tad:ic, but his officers keep
it up in the highefl perfe<5lion. His army is
at prefent more numerous, and better pro-
vided than ever , they do not fall (hort of
one hundred and forty thoufand men ; and
there is not a regiment in his fervice that is
not ready for marching: his whole army, ar-
tillery, baggage, and all attendants, could be
in the field upon a week's notice at any time;
his fortreffes are all in better order than before
the lail war, and fome places made of great
llrength upon the frontiers of Silefia, which
never before were fortified at all. His trea-
fure is reported to be confiderable, and he
certainly is not encumbered with debts ; for
the lafl war, immenfe as it was to him, did
not make him contract a fhillingof debt,tho'
it is certain his antagonift, the Queen of Hun-
gary, anticipated many of her revenues.
If all things are confidered, it will appear
very evident, that his power is better efla-
bJiflied than ever, and that he has no profped
c«r
GERMANY. 285
of feeing alnQther Gonfederacy which will bear
fo hard upon him as the laft. Auftria will not
be eager to attack him, after having failed, with
every pofTible advantage on her fide. If fhe
could not wreft Silelia from him, when
France, Ruffia, Sweden, and Saxony were in
alliance with her, and their power fo a6lually
brought to bear upon him, that he fought bat-
tles with them all -, fuch a confederacy is
not to be looked for in an age 5 and if it failed
in its aim, that aim may be pronounced im-
praftic^ble. Saxony it cannot be expedled
will unite again, unlefs it be with Pruffia; but
the fituation of it confidered, if it proves an
enemy, it will be an enemy fwallowed up as
in the lafl war, and the country made to con-
tribute amply to pay the expence of it.
Ruffia will fcarcely unite againft the King,
with whom fhe is now in clofe alliance -, it
would be extremely contrary to her intereft.
France will always be found in full employ-
ment by England 5 (he will not quickly fend
armies againft Pruffia. The King therefore
has the fatisfa6tion of enjoying peace.
Thefe are the ideas of the Berlin politi-
cians, who all declare the peace will be lad-
ing, from the great jealoufy of Auftria and
Ruflia, cither oppofing or uniting with each
other :
286 TRAVELS THROUGH
other : every party is flrongly armed, and
looks on in filence, except RufFia, who, know-
ing her own flrength, and fearlefs of confe-
quences, carries on a moil extenfive war with
Turkey and in Poland.
The King's revenues amount at prefent to
about a million and an half ilerling, a fum
which in England appears fmall ; but if the
different value of money there, and in Bran-
denburg, be confidered, and likewife the un-
common exertions of oeconomy unequalled
in any other court, this fum, I am confident,
is in the King's hands as good as four mil-
lions, perhaps as five in England. The land-
tax throughout his dominions is regular, and
equals about nine fhillings in the pound : the
crown lands yield a confiderable rent, and
are as well managed to profit as a private
rrentleman's eftate. The cufloms are but a
fmall article ; they are gathered in his ports
on the Baltick and at Embden. The excife
is eenerai on all the neceffaries of life, and
riles fo high as forty per cent. Thefe taxes
are very heavy ; but fuch is the regularity of
his government, and fo little oppreffion is
met with from minifters and revenue-officers,
that the people are beyond comparifon hap-
pier than in the dominions of Saxoi>y, Au-
flria.
GERMANY. 287
ftria, or Bavaria. Much of his fuccefs in the
late war was doubtlefs owing to the fubfidy
he received from England : the difcontinu-
ance of which, and the breaking off all con-
ne6lions between the two courts, llruck hard
upon him -, for it took him out of the hands
of France, from whom he received a fubfidy
of three hundred thoufand pounds a year, and
left him without an equivalent from England.
The treatment he received from the latter
country, upon the change of that miniftry
which had condu6led the war, made an im-
preflion upon him much againft England, of
whom he has often exprefled himfelf with
fome acrimony : what the refult will be in
future political arrangements is not eafy to
fay ; but if the connexion continues between
France and Auftria, that between England
and Pruffia mufl-, in the nature of things, be
renewed; for when one part of Europe throws
itfelf into an alliance ofFenfive to the rcG:^
a counter alliance muft ever be formed, or
all good ideas of politicks be abfolutely given
up.
The I ft of Jane I left Berlin, and got to
Britzen, the dillance thirty miles : all which
track of country is very fandy, though to-
lerably populous, and fome of it well cul-
tivated.
aS8 TRAVELS THROUGH
tivated. They fow much buck-wheat, and
were now ploughing for turneps, which they
fow the middle of this month : and I believe
this root and buck-wheat, with a very little
rye, to be all the produdls thefe poor fands
yield, and yet they feem to be very well ma-
nured ; for the countrymen houfe their cattle
in winter, and raife by that means large quan-
tities of dung, which they mix with a kind
of iliff earth, which they dig from under the
fandj acompoftwhichi fhould fuppofe mufl
agree extremely well with fuch dry barren
foils.
The 2d I advanced no further than Wit-
tenburg, the diftance only 15 miles. In this
journey from Brandenburg to Saxony the
foil changes almofl immediately for the
better, and the population of the country
alfo. The foil is a good loam, which yields
tolerable crops of wheat; they have alfo bar-
ley, and I remarked a few pieces of flax.
Wittenburg was noted before the lafl war
for its cloth manufadlories, and for dying bet-
ter than at any other place in the ele6lorate ;
the latter bufmefs is yet found here, though
not near fo much as formerly ; but mofl of
its fabricks are removed to Berlin, fo that the
place
• Gl E R M A N Y. ' 289^
place ht? ni>t been able to recover the ruin i^
met witkJQ the war. Martin Luther's church
is yet ilanding, tho' three hundred years old,
and has feep fo n;i-any lieges, cannonade^, and
bombardments, without any damage.
The gd I went to Leiplick, the dlflance
30 miles, through a country naturally exceed-
ingly Certile, bu.t carries many mark-s of the
miferies of the late war. Moft of it has been
well cultivated, but upon riding intq feveral
fields, now in grafs, and whofe appearance
indicates wfetched management, I fouud
they had been arable ones within a few years j
and upon making enquiries, I had feveral fpots
pointed QU^ to me whereon flood fmall vil*
iages, confining of farm-houfes, now no more;
and all the lands which belonged to them,
and once yielded abundant crops of cora^
are now little better than wafte and com?
mon foreil land, whereon the tenants of ths
fame landlord turn their cattle. This is imt
the cafe with two or three places, hut coa*'
tinues for many miles; and is owing to the
nobles, to whom the country belongs, having
ruined themfelves with paying military con*
tributions fo often, that at laft they had nq*
thing tp pay, when their buildings were burnt
down, and themfelves left tQQ pQor to ere«3t
, Yql. III. U new
J90 TRAVELS THROUGH
new ones : this is generally the reafbn why
the feat of war is fo very injurious to a coun-
try; for nothing is fo great an evil as land
proper for cultivation, belonging to own-
ers too poor to raife the buildings neceffary
for bringing it into cui'ture. If the landlords
of fuch a country would allow every thing
to be deflroyed the firft campaign, they
would be reduced, it is true, but then they
would be free from thofe enormous debts
which not only carry their ruiTi with them
to the graves of fuch as groan under them,
but entail mifery upon their children.
Leipfick, the fuburbs included, is one of
the moft eoniiderable cities i>n this part of
Germany, i>otwrthftanding its having fuffer-
ed very feverely in the two laft wars, and
felt fome heavy ftrokes, which are not yet
recovered : it has been the theatre of almoft
every war that has happened in Germany.
In the famous one of thirty years it was very
often taken and retaken by the Swedes and
Imperialifts ; no lefs than five times in two
years. It felt the weight of Charles XIl's
invafion of Saxony, than whom there have
been, few more brutal invaders. And the
two laft wars fucceeding each other very quick-
ly, 'its- trade aiid buildings much declined in
" . -i >^ them.
GERMANY. 291
them. The city itfeif is not an agreeable
place, from the narrownefs of the flreets, and
the height of the houfes, which rife to eight
or nine ftorids ; but the fuburbs are much
more fpacious and better built : they are alfo
pleafant, from the number of areas and gar-
dens in them, and from the conflux of three
fmall rivers. They have not many publick
buildings at Leipfick that much deferve a
ilranger's attention ; the beft among them is
St. Nicholas church, which is a very fine
iCdifice. The town-houfe in an old but "a
good flrudture ; the exchange is another ;
and around the great market place are many
houles of private merchants which make
an uncommon figure for buildings of that
fort; but there are leveral traders in the city
that have made coniiderable fortunes, and
before the lail war there were treble the num-
ber; but the greatefl among them, upon the
breaking out of it, removed themfelves and
their effects to Hamburgh. The univerlity
is one of the moft famous in Germany, and
much frequented by ftudents of family and^
fortune; but this alfo declined much in the
lafl: war.
Trade is the foul of Leipfick : confider-
ing that it is an inland place, and without th^
advantage even of a navigable river, tbegreat-
U a nefs
'292 TRAVELS THROUGH
nefs of its commerce is very furprizing ; but i
it is owing to its fairs, of which they have ^
three very confiderable ones every year. To
them merchants bring or fend goods of all
forts from every part of Europe: all the ma-
nufaftures of Germany, France, Italy, Eng-
land, Holland, and Flanders are met with
here: vaft magazines are formed of Eaft In-
dia goods of all forts ; of Weft India com-
modities ; of wines, brandies, fruits, {ilk,
hemp, flax, iron, and, in a word, all forts of
produ(£ls; and purchafers refort hither from
every part of Germany and the North.
Theie fairs alfo carry off great quantities of
the fabricks which are made at Leipfick, of
which there are feveral forts ; fuch as iilk,
cotton and woollen manufadlures, paper,
o-old and filver laces, &c. but all thefe fuf-
fered much from the laft war; nor have
they recovered themfelves to any thing like
their former fuccefs : indeed, I obferved, in
converfation with feveral merchants here,
that they had all a diftruft that they w^ere by
110 means fecure from frefli vifits of the Pruf-
iians; and while this is the cafe (at which
we cannot be furprized) it is not to be won-
'dered that commerce and manufadlures do
-not thrive. The injury the whole eledtoratc
fuftained
G. E R M A N .Y. . 293
fuflained lafl war, in the deftrudlon of its
manufadlures and trade, the ruin of its agri-
culture, and the decline of its population.,
was of an exceedingly great amqunt, and
fuch as cannot be recovered without the moft
unremitting attention, and political condud
of half a century ; before which time it will
prohably fee, in fome caufe or other, a renewal
of its calamites. If thefe circumftances are
coiilidered, with the opprefiive government of
all the German princes that have an ahfolute
authority, we fliall have reafon to wonder at
any trade at all being found in Saxony.
The 6th I travelled thirty miles to MeiiTen^
through the fineft part of Saxony ; and which,
notwithflanding the fury of the late war, is
now a populous and a well cultivated country ;
there is a great deal of arable land, and very
^ne champain fields, covered.with corn ; many
villages, and the people feemed to be a6live,
and quite alive in their bufinefs. Part of the
females were collected in fmall knots in the
villages, fpinning wool; others drove the horfes
and oxen that drew the ploughs : this em-
ployment of the women is an excellent
fign, where the men do not, in consequence,
indulge in idlenefs, which is the cafe in fome
countries. They cultivate a great deal of
wheat and barley, and were now fowing fome
U 3 buck-
2<3+ TRAVELS THROUGH
buck-wheat ; but it is a grain for which
their lands are too good, the poorefl fands
will rival them: they cultivate turneps, cab-
bages, and alfo cabbages for feeding them-
felves and their cattle : their herds are nume-
rous; they feed them not only in their mea-
dows, but alfo upon clover, of which I faw
feveral large pieces, a thing I had not re-
marked of a long time. I enquired into their
management of it; they fow it with barley,
and in the fucceeding year either mow it
twice for hay, thrice fometimes ; or elfe feed
Iheep, young cattle, cows, oxen, and horfes
upon it : the hay they prefer to meadow hay.
They keep it two years upon the ground, and
after that plough it up for any fort of crop,
but do not feem to confider it as a peculiar
preparation for wheat, which is the idea in
England : it has not long been cultivated
here, but Ip reads very faft, from their find-
ing the profit of it to be great. The lands
here are cultivated by both the landlords and
peafants; the latter are, in general, farmers,
and not of very little fpots, but they are
bound to apply a partof their time with their
teams, &c. to cultivate thofe parts of the
cf^ate which the landlord holds in his own
hands, and which are ufually pretty confider-
able.
MeifTen
GERM A N Y. :29s
Melflen is a little town, weakly fortified,
but with a ftrong caftle on the Elbe : it is
only remarkable (the Drefden porcelane ex-
cepted) for a covered bridge of wood over
that river: the cathedral I had been told was
a fine building, with many fine electoral mo-
numents in it, but I found it worthy of very
little obfervation. The manufacture of por-
celane was once more famous here than at
any other place in Europe, but the lafl war
almoft ruined it; upon the King of Pruffia's
irruption into Saxony, mofl of the workmen
and the materials were removed ; but the war
continuing lb long, and Saxony remaining
in the hands of the Pruffians, fome of the
people died, and others were loft; fbme the
' King of Pruffia fecured, and fent them to
Berlin, where he attempted to eflablifh a
fimilar manufactory, but he has executed no-
thing comparable to the old Drefden pieces.
Upon the eftablifhment of peace the works
at Meiflen were reftored, and a frefh fet
of workmen, with fome old ones, refumed
the manufactory : I have feen the beit pieces
they have made, and fhall venture to affert,
that the manufacture is loft; for they are not,
in the clearnefs of the white, to be compared
with what they formerly made : as to fine
painting, it is any where to be had, and there-
U 4 ~ fore
!i96 TRAVELS THROUGH
fore not peculiar to the Drefdeii ware. This
is a great lofs to the curious, and lovers of
fine porcelane all over Europe; and the more
fo, as none of the numerous fabricks fet up in
England, France, or Holland, have come
near equal to it.
The 1 7th I reached Drefden, which is only
fifteen miles from MeifTen, through the moil
heautiful line of country I have feen in Ger-
many : it is all hill and dale, corn, vines,
iand meadows along the banks of the Elbe, a
continued pi6t:ure: the river is every wher6
feen to advantage, with the beautiful circum-
ftance of the banks being high and woody ;
a more entertaining pi£lurefque fcene can
hardly be viewed.
Drefden, I can eafily conceive, was, before
the deflrudion of the fuburbs, one of the
fineft cities in Europe; but the Pruffians have
much reduced its beauty, hy burning down
a great part of the moft beautiful quarters of
it. The old city is fortified in a regular
manner; the baftions are of ftone, and there
is a double ditch, but yet the ftrength of it is
nothing, unlefs the garrifon be very nume-»
rous. The river Elbfe divides it into two cities,
the old and the new. The bridge over that
river, which is built of ftone, is reckoned the
finefl in Germany; but no perfon who has
feen
GERMANY. 597
ieeti that at Weftminfter, will think there is
either beauty or magnificence in it. It is
five hundred and fiorty feet long, thirty fix
broad, and confifts of nineteen arches. The
cleddral palace is not a very ftriking building
for the beauties of architecture, but there are
tnany very fine and fpacious apartments in it
very fplendidly furnifhed ; much of it done
fince the v^af ; for fome of the befi: furniture
was ruined by the Prufi^ans, and avafi: num*
ber of curiofities carried off. The King, it
is fuppofed, did not defign to touch any thing,
and no commander keeps a more regular dif-
cipline, but in fb long a war fo full of events,
and thofe remarkably fevere, a place of curi-
ofities muft neceflarily fare but badly. The
ftables form a magnificent building, being
very fpacioUs, and vvere once filled with fome
of the finefi: horfes in Germany, but many of
the ftalls are now unoccupied : indeed the
revenues of the eledlorate fuffered to fo great
a degree in the late war, that Drefden has
ever fince exhibited a very different appear-
ance ; the court is no longer what it was ;
and all thofe circumftances which flow from
great revenues, have funk proportionably to
the decline which the Saxon income has ex-
perienced. No court in Germany was fo pro-
fufe, but there is an oecoiiomy in it now,
which
a^g TRAVELS THROUGH
which promifes a much happier adminiflra-
tion of affairs than has been experienced in
the two laft.
The Romifli chapel is one of the fineft
edifices at Drefden : it is a well-proportioned
and magnificent building, mofl highly orna-
mented: it was built for the private ule of
the late King and his court.
The chamber of curiofities hath yet a great
many very beautiful models and toys, which
Cannot fail entertaining any traveller; and the
colledion, which they call the Kunts-kam-
mar, which is chiefly of natural rarities, is e-
qual to any thing that can be feen; but as the
particulars of thefe things have been publifhed
by more than one traveller, I fhall not fwell
thefe pages with a recital of them. The
gallery of pictures is equal to moft that are to
be feen in Italy, and are kept in admirable
prefervation. The pieces by Correggio are
to be equalled no where but in Parma. A
very magnificent work, containing plates of
all the pictures in this gallery, was publiflied
at Drefden, under the direct infpedlion of the
late King.
The Indian palace, of which feveral wri-
ters have given long accounts, is, in my opi-
nion, a very filly affair; and by no means even
elegant. Count -Bruhrs famous palace fuf-
fercd
GERMANY. 299
fered moft feverely in the war, at which no-
body was concerned, from the foundation of
all his grandeur being laid in the miferies of
the Saxons, and from his being the principal
plotter and advifer of that war, which ruined
his mafter. The picture gallery is one of the
lineft rooms I have any where feen.
From the befl accounts I could get while
at Drefden, the decline in all the affairs of
confequence throughout the government of
Saxpny, upon account of the late war, is
muc!h greater than has been thought by fome
authors who have written lately. Before the
war, the revenues of the eledorate, by means
however of very great oppreffion, amounted
to a million and an half fterlhig; but I was af^
fured, that they do not at this day, although
near feven years of peace have intervened, rife
to feven hundred thoufand pounds, and yet
the government is burthened with a very heavy
debt. Saxony, before the war, contained,
near two millions of people ; it has not now
much above one. In Drefden were an hun-
dred and ten thoufand people, but at.prefent
jt would be difficult to find half the number;
fuch flrong marks of decline are not to be
miflaken, they fhew the feverity of the lat^
war in the mofl ilriking colours j and prove
clearly,
300 TRAVELSTHROUGH
clearly, that if it had continued much longer,
the whole electorate would have been made
a defart.
The prefent government conduds all things
in a very fenfible and political manner: they
find the wretched ftate of the country will ad-
mit of nothing but an oeconomy, which has
not been pradlifed in this country for a long
while ; the people fee and know the public
diftrefs, and do not repine at the taxes they
are forced to pay, as did all when the amount
was fquandered by Count Bruhl, and the
King, in cloaths, toys, and gewgaws. Only
fifteen thoufand regular troops are kept up,
but they have five or fix thoufand militia re-
gularly difciplined. This is certainly a(fling
with prudence ; for the whole country is fo
impoveirifhed, that if they raifed by taxes a
revenue to do otherwife, it muft be by the
ruin of the people. They mnft have time, not
only to recruit their lofTes, but alfo their num-
bers. The foil is in general fertile, and the
Saxons are induflrious enough to bring it into
culture, if they have time given them, with-
out making even peace itfelf too burthenfome
by taxation, and without hurrying them into
another war, which could not fail of being
ruinous to the whole electorate . Some en-
couragement has been given to agriculture
and
" U S R MAN Y. 3ot.
and manufa<3:uTes iince the peace, particu*
larly by an exemption from taxes in certain
cafes wherein they would be extremely bur-
thenfbme : but the effential foundation of
tolerable cultivation, or adivity in carrying
on fabricks, is wanting, which is wealth, or
at leafl eafy clrcumftances in the undertakers;
but this electorate the Pruffians exhaufted to
fo great a degree, that they left fcarcely any
wealth in it : the lands are in the hands of
nobility fo reduced that they can fcarcely
live; much lefs are able to carry on improve-
ments in the manner requilite at prefent for
being effectual in reviving hufbandry in their
country ; and when this is the cafe, fuch a
fenovation mull: be left to common caufes,
the increafe of the people, and of induftry a-
mong the lower clafles, w^hich is always of
moft (low operation.
The amazing difference of the event of the
war to Brandenburg and Saxony is fliriking :
the latter is fo ruii;ied and exhaufted, as to
lye almoft at the mercy of any invader; with-
out people, trade, revenues, or forces, on a
comparifon with what all thofe articles were
before the war: on the contrary, the King of
Pruffia is in pofleffion of as great an income
.as ever; a finer army than when he began the
war: his dominions fuffered indeed, but the
wounds
j02 TRAVELS THROUGH
wounds feem to have been but fkin-deep:
certainly his country was not made the feat
of war, in the manner he made that of the
Elector of Saxony. The contraft indeed is
fo ftriking, that if ever a new war breaks out
between Pruffia and Auflria, Saxony moft
inidoubtedly will not join the latter.
The 1 2th I fet out from Drefden, and got
to Leutmeritz, in Bohemia, in two days,
pacing through Pirna, and by the famous
caftle of Koningftein. Pirna is a little place
among the mountains, and Koningftein is a
caftle fituated on the top of a rock, three
hundred feet high, and half a mile in circum-
ference. The way to it is fb difficult, that a
company is fufficient to defend it againft an
army. In it is a well above fixteen hundred
feet deep, which fupplies the garrifon with
water. In the labyrinth of thefe rocks and
mountains the King of Pruflia caught the
Saxon army and made them prifbners. The
country is in general very wild and romantic,
and the views of the Elbe running through
fuch a region of mountains extremely gro-
tefque. There are fbmevineyardsplanted upon
fouthern fpots of thele mountains, where thp
grapes ripen tolerably, but the wine is not
drinkable to thofe who have been ufed to that
which is good,
CHAP.
GERMANY. ^©3
CHAP. IX.
journey acrofs Bohemia — Prague — Defcrip-
tion of the country — 'The people — Nobility
— Hujbandry — Manufadiures — Moravia — ■
Olmutz-^Brinn — Journey to Vienna — De-
fcription of the capital,
LEUTMERITZ is a fmall town in Bo-
hemia, fituated on the river Elbe; it
has {ovciQ fortifications, but none of any great
ftrength : near this place the King of Pruffia
gained a great vidory over the Auftrians in
the laft war. The neighbouring country was
ieveral times the feat of war, and fufFered
much : part of the mifchiefs done are not yet
recovered ; for there are feveral tracks of land,
belonging to a Bohemian nobleman, who re-
sides at Vienna, which were once arable,
but are now over-run with grafs and weeds,
and ftill have not near a ftock of cat-
tle proper for the land ;, and fome villages
arc of a very poor appearance, with feveral
houfes almoft burnt down, that have not yet
been repaired. The country that is cultivated
does not feem to be managed in an able man-
ner^
304 TRAVELS THROUGH
ner, and the peafants are much worfe treated
than they are in Saxony.
The 1 8th I reached Prague, the capital of
Bohemia, and one of the largeft cities in Eu-
rope. The country through which the road
runs is various; much of it is of a fruitful foil,
and tolerably cultivated in fome parts, but
there are in every track many marks of bad
hulbandry and inattention, greatly owing, I
fuppofe,to a want of induftry, and partly to the
oppreffion which the peafants experience.
They have fome tolerable crops of wheat,
but I never faw worfe barley, or any corn
more full of weeds; and they value it (6
little, that on various pieces of barley and
peafe I faw cattle feeding, which made me
enquire if they were fown with Intention to
be eat green ; but that was not the cafe, it
is a mere inftance of ftupid negled. I obferv-
ed one or two pieces of flax, which looked
very well. The winter food of their cattle
is principally the cabbage turnep, and re4
cabbage, which they cultivate in large quaiii
tities. I faw feveral young plantations of
them, but they do not feem to manage them
well.
Prague is very well fituated on the river
Muldaw; it is divided into two cities by that
river. The fortifications are regular, and
much
GERMANY, 305
rnitch fuperior to what they were before the
lafi war; but the city is of fo great an extent
that it requires an army to def. nd it. It fuf-
fered very much by the liege it flood in. the
beginning of the war againfh the King of Pruf-
lia, who cannonaded and bombarded it in fo
fevere a manner, that not many buildings
efcaped; whole quarters were beat down, or
burnt, and I was fhewn feveral vei-y large
gardens and young orchards, which be-
fore that liege were entirely covered with
houfes, and the people are too poor to re-
build them in a place where there are yet
more houfes than are occupied : fcarcely any
of the publick buildings efcaped damage at
the fame liege. The univerlity is one of the
moft famous in Germany, and has a vafl
number of Undents ; the people at Prague
talk of five thoufand } what they might be
formerly I know not, but at prefent they are
Ihort of three thoufand. In 1409, when John
Hufs was redor, it is a fa6t that there were
thirty thoufand ftudents here. The Jefuits
College is one of the finefl buildings in the
city, but it fuffered by feveral unlucky can-
non balls, and is not thoroughly repaired.
The bridge, which joins the old and the new
town, is fifteen hundred and eighty feet long,
•by thirty^broad, and has feventeen arches, and
Vol III. X is
305 TRAVELS THROUGH
is all of ftone 5 it is a folid edifice, has no-
thing of elegance in it 3 and when a traveller
hears that it was an hundred and fifty years a
building, he will fuppofe it muft have been m
^a age extremely poor, or been undertaken
by a prince of little fpirit. The finefl edifices
in the world are rarely thofe which were fo
long in raifing. St. Peter's at Rome is an in-
ftance againfl me; but St. Paul's at London,
and the bridge at Weftminfler, are fi:rong
ones in my favour, and many more might be
quoted. The royal palace, and the cathedral,
are very mean buildings, and contain fcarcely
any thing worthy of notice. What at Prague
are much the beft worth feeing, are the pa-
laces of the nobility; fome of which are very
noble edifices, thatwould make a great figure
in the beft built cities of Italy ; feveral of
them are of very great fize, with moftfpacious
apartments, and very magnificent furniture.
Thofe of the princes Lobcowitz, and Ifchar-
nan, and the counts Gala, Straka, Czaflaw,
and Manflein, deferve particular attention ;
they contain many apartments that are worthy
of fovereign princes, but the number of very
good pictures is trifling.
Moft of the Bohemian nobility, who are a
numerous body, keep their refidence in win*
ter at Prague, and in fummer on their eftates.
None
GERMANY. 307
Kone of them refort to Vienna, but filch as
^re in office ill the court, which is a very un-
fconimdn inftance. It is their prefence in this
city that alone fupports it : for without their
refort, and the garrifon, which is generally
pretty niinierdus, the city would be a defart,
being utterly deftitute of both trade and ma-
nufadtures : the univerlity does fomething,
biit iiot much. All the lower clafles here are
poor; the burghers are treated by the nobles
very contemptuoufly, to a degree not com-
4non elfewhere : if the plac*^ was ever fo well
iituated for trade, or manufa6lure, this would
be d fure rrieans of damping their progrefs.
The 1 6th I left Prague, and went to Nym-
burg, a fmall town twenty five miles diHant ;
the country various, but much of it pretty
tolerably cultivated, rather better than the
track to the north of Prague. The peafants
are treated in a wretched manner j they have
hovels of the worft fort to live in, little better
than thofe in Weftphalia, being loofe ftones
laid on one another for the walls, and the cre-
vices filled with mud, and the covering fome
ilrong poles, with turf fpread 0:1 them, and
a hole at top in the middle is all the chimney
that any of them have ; adjoining is their
barn, built of the fame materials, in which
they fto^w their little corn, and keep their
X 2 cattle
308 TRAVELS THROVOU
cattle in winter ; each cottage has a few acres
of land around it, with a cow or two, and a
miferable pair, either of horfes or oxen, for
ploughing their land. In general, Sunday is
the only day in the week which they are al-
lowed for cultivating- this land, in order to
raife provifioiiS for fublifiing on the whole
week ; but in feed-time and harveft their
lords indulge them with another. When I
fpeak therefore of the hufbandry of the coun-
try, I do not mean of the peafants-, nor of
the farmers, for there is fcarcely any fuch
thing, but of the nobility, and other land-
iords, who all cultivate their own eftates by
means of their agents and Rewards. The
peafants in every refped refemble nearly thofe
of- Poland, than whom they are not favoured
more.
. At nrfl fight it may appear, that landlords,
who a6t upon this fyflem, muft make far more
of their eilates than thofe who lett them
in the Engllfli manner to farmers, becaufe
.here the profit of the farmer is confolidated
'with that of the landlord ; but, from the re-
.peated obfervations wliich I have often had
occafion of making, I am convinced that the
cafe is the very contrary. If any eftate was
only of fuch a fizc as to form a good farm it
would be very tiiiej but eflatCvsare thus cul-
tivated
GERMANY. 309
fivated whofe extent is from twenty to thirty
thoufand acres of cultivated land, either
meadow, pailure, arable, fheep-walk, or
woods, all in fotne culture or other, and a
vaft track arable. To be forced to cultivate
fuch immenfe f^ms, they are obliged to have
fwarms of bailiffs and agents. In every place
where a farm-houfe fhould be is a bailiff's
houfe, who manages a certain track of land.
Thus the landlord is at tl>s monflrous ex-
pence of flocking his whole eftate, and run*
ning all the chances of that flock, and at the
fame time has to keep as many bailiffs as if
they were farmers, and who all live out of the
land before he has his clear profit, as much
as if they were farmers ; with this great dif-
tin^lion, that being merely fervants they
have little interefl in the fuccefs of their huf-
bandry, and confequently the mafler fuifers
all the ufual inconveniences of fuch a fitua-
tion : his agents of all forts cofl him as much
as farmers would make for themfelves, fup-
pofmg them honefl ; and if they turn out
otherwife, a great deal more. Thus he gets
none of the farmers profit, at the fame time
that he lofes the intereft of all the money
employed in flocking, and bears the chances to
which that flock is liable. From which ftate
of the affair I think it is very evident, how
X 3 much
310 TRAVELS THROUGH
much more beneficial it is to lett out an eftatq
to farmers, for them to find the ftock, cul-
tivate the land, and employ the peafants, not
only in mere profit of the year, but with a
view to future improvement^, which muft
always be conducted with far more efFe6l by
the pepple who work for their own intereft,
than by others who do it for a mailer ^ and a
mafter perhaps who is always abfent, or, if*
prefent, who underftands nothingof the mat-
ter. What great improvements have been
made in England by tenants, who enjoy the
benefit during their leafe, and then pay a frefh
rent to their landlords on account of thofe
very improvements ! In population alfo the
prince would reap a very great benefit ^ for
when men are working for themfelves, their
induftry will be very different from that of
fervants; and in proportion to the general in-
duftry, muft population be : the peafants
would likewife meet with lefs oppreffion, and
confequently increafe more.
They fow a good deal of wheat in this line
of country, but theirprincipal crop is barley.
I obferved many plantations of hops in the
warm vales, where the foil is rich and deep :
it is a common culture in mofl parts of Bohe-
mia, I am told ; and when the fpot chofen
for a hop-garden is fuitable, they find it more
profitably
GERMANY. 311
profitably applied than for any other crop.
Beer is a very great article of trade throughout
the kingdom, much being exported to all the
furrounding countries 5 this makes barley and
hops particularly advantageous. Saffron is
another crop, which I faw now and then : they
prefer a light, dry loam on a ftratum of rock
for it ; they think it very profitable ; an acre
of good faffron is worth about three pounds
here. Turneps and cabbages they have in
large quantities for the winter fupport of
their cattle : they prefer the latter in general :
I faw many crops fomewhat advanced in
growth, but they do not feem to be attentive
to keeping them free from weeds.
The 17th I reached LeutmylTel, at the dif-
tance of forty-five miles, paffing through two
or three pretty towns upon the banks of the
Elbe. This country is more beautiful than
the preceding, and of a richer foil ; in fome
parts there are hills, but not fo great as to be
unprofitable land, while the vales form fome
very rich arable and meadow land ; moft of
which is pretty well cultivated, under wheat,
barley, and beans, which are much fown
here • wheat yields from two, to two and an
halfquarter per acre j barley fomething more;
beans four quarters ; they choofe for thefe
theirftiffeflwet foils. They feed on their mea-
X 4 dows
312 TRAVELS THROUGH
dows large herds of cows and oxen, and keep
many fheep, but do not manufad:ure the
wool; rnoft of it is fold to Silelia and Saxony,
. both of which are much more induflrious
countries : They work up however fome of
their own flax into the fame fort of linens as
are made in Silefia, which is an employment
of the poor people in many of the little
towns in this kingdom; their earnings at thisi
work are very fmall ; a weaver in Silefia will
earn about three and lixpence a week, but
in Bohemia not more than half a crown; but
provifions of all forts are very cheap in both
thefe countries. I faw two or three country
feats belonging to noblemen ; they are all
built in the caftle form, with a moat round,
and feem to be extremely fpacious : a noble-
man of great fortune in this country has fel-
dom lefs than two or three hundred fervants
about him, when at his caftle in the country ^
andhe is an abfolute monarch upon his eflate,
with power over every thing but life and
death, and the royal revenue officers. This
kind of dominion over all the lower cb.iTes
flatters the vanity andpride of the great, more
than the amount of the advantages they would
gain by the peafants being free : it is like the
contrail of abfolute authority to the limited
pov/er poireffed by fome kings; the latter
makc:j
GERMANY. 313
jnakes their people happy and rich, and might
have the fame eiFe6l upon themfelves, qut
they are all hunting after the former.
The 1 8th I got to Olmutz, the capital of
Moravia, the diftance forty miles, crolTmg the
mountains which feparate the two countries ^
thefe are not very lofty, nor craggy, but they
fill a track of country of feveral miles broad 1
they exhibit a wild territory, but little of
which is cultivated : the peafants that in-
habit thefe hills are a rough intractable fet
of men, that will not fubmit to the oppref-
iions underwhich their brethren of the plains
groaui they have been often in rebeliion, not
againft the fovereign, but the lords to whom
they are vaflals ; they are, in many refpeds,
treated much better, and their houfes and
little farms make a much better appearance.;
they have more and better cattle ; fome of
them are in polleflion of fmall pieces of land
which they have purchafed, and ail are ex-
tremely tenacious of this kind of property ;
they do not work for their mafters more than
three days in a week. It is alv/ays to be re-
marked, that the gradations of freedom are
ever to be found in mountainous countries ^ in
general fach are free > but even under abfo-
lute monarchs they enj^y more liberty, than
the fubjefts of the fame prince who inhabit
- plain
3H TRAVELS THROUGH
plain countries. To live In hilly countries
requires moreaftivityandvigourof bodyj the
very moving from one place to another is la-
borious ', the cold and bluftering climates
found in them contribute to bracing up the
human body, and to make it hardy. It hath
the fame effeft as is fcQn in cold climates,
compared with hot ones, in vsrhatever parts
of the world they may be found. After the
mountains are pafTed that feparate the two
countries, I went through a great extent of
forefl and marfh land, very little of which
is cultivated ; and not much of it would pay
for culture, unlefs the couiitryin general was
jicher than it is.
Olmutz is a fmall but very well built city,
prettily fituated on the little river Moravia.
It is a ftrong place both by nature and art ;
fo that the King of Pruffia,when he made the
famous irruption into Moravia, and laid fiege
to it, did not feem to have had good intelli-
<^ence of the ftate of the town, or thegarrifon.
The rtreets are regular and well paved, and
there are many good houfes in it ; the only
public buildings of any note are the Jefuits
college, the bifhop's palace, and the tovvn-
houfe;themarketpiaceisfurroundcdbyfeveral
well built houfes. It is an agreeable town,
,ind the inhabitants feem to be a veryfociable
people.
GERMANY. 315
people, with more adivity andinduflry than
is to be found among the Bohemians. Pro-
vifions are very cheap here : I Hved at the
Emprefs's Arms inn two days upon ex-
ceeding good fiih and fowl, and good Hunga-
rian wine; and when I paid my reckoning, I
found that fix fhillings went to the full as far
as a guinea in England. Beef is only three
halfpence a pound; mutton is fometimes fold
at a penny; and a fat turkey is to be bought
for fourteen pence.
The 2ift 1 left Olmutz, and proceeded to
Brinn, the dilfance thirty miles, through
a much more fertile country than north of
Olmutz ; it is better peopled, and much
more of it cultivated: they do not fow much
wheat here, but a great deal of rye, barley,
peafcj and beans and the crops in general
carried a good appearance : they keep great
herds of cattle, feeding them in winter on
cabbages, turneps, and flraw ; all the latter,
which they give to their cattle, they cat al-
moft as fmall as chaff, with an engine made
onpurpofe, very different from the chaff-cut-
ter ufed in England. They chop the turneps
or cabbages into fmall pieces, and give them
with chopt ilraw,and find that they go much
the farther, and nourifh the cattle much bet-
ter. I never heard of any thing of this fort
>£ino-
3i6 TRAVELS T H R O UGH
being praclifed in England ; yet I fiiould ap-
prehend that it could not fail of anfwering
extremely ; it is certainly much worth the
trial. They have vaft herds of fwine, which
find their own fubliftance in woods, and
fwampy grounds, for mofl part of the year.
They fatten them on beans, peafe, and po-
tatoes, which they cultivate on purpofe j fend-
ing great quantities of bacon to Vienna, &c.
Brinn is well fituated on the confluence of
two rivers, and is reckoned the ftrongeft place
in Moravia ; it has a caftle that is veryftrong;
the Auftrians have ufually a good garrifon
here ; feveral new fortifications have been ad-
ded, both to this place and to Olmutz, lince
the laft war, which I fuppofe were occafioned
by the King of PrufTia's bold march into this
country, which alarmed them excefTively at
Vienna. There are about fix thoufand inha-
bitants in Brinn ; the flreets are narrow and
crooked, but many of the houfes very well
built, and fome of the public edifices make
a tolerable appearance, particularly the Jefuits
college, and the churches of St. James and
St. Thomas.
The 22d I reached Laba, a little town
thirty miles fromBriiin; the country between
them is better than the preceding ; has lefs
wafte land, fewer forefls and marihcs ; and
the
GERMAN Y. 517
tlie arable land beyond com parifon better cul-
tivated r this is in a great meafure owing to
the attention given to hufbandry improve-
ments by the court of Vienna, They were
at the expence fome years ago of bringing fe-
veral Flemilh farmers from the country be-
tween Oftcnd and Bruges; three of them were
fettled in this country, being fupplied with all
forts of implements, cattle, houfes, land,
&c. by the Emprefs Queen, and fixed upon
fome walle biit very fertile lands belonging
to the crown. They have had a large fuccef-
fion of Moravian peafants regularly v/ork-
ing under them, in order to be inftruded in
theFlemifh hufbandry; who being difcharged
when freOi ones are taken have much fpread
fevefal excellent cuftoms, and will in all pro-
bability much improve the agriculture of the
greatefl part of the province. The effcS: has
already been very coniiderable ; for though-
thefe Flemings do not occupy a thoufand
acres of land in all, yet their methods already
fpread over a country near fifteen miles lon«-j
all the hufbandry of which is by their means
much improved. They have introduced clo-
ver here, which turns out one of the mod
"beneficial crops that can be fown ; they have
alfo made this culture of clover a preparation
for wheat, fo that they have almofl entirely
baniihed
3iS TRAVELS THROUGH
banifhed the cuilom of fallowing for wheat,
which was the common method in Moravia.
Spurry they alfo brought with them, with
which they fed cows. To them likewife the
Moravians are indebted for a much more fy-
ftematic management of manure than what
they formerly followed : They form compofls
of dung, rotten vegetables, vafl quantities of
leaves, fwept up on purpofe in the open
forefts, turf,a{hes, and other materials, which
they mix together feveral times, and fpread
upon their clover fields, and on their cabbage
grounds. They have alfo made them abun-
dantly more attentive in keeping all their
crops clear from weeds, and in good order,
by hoeing and weeding ; all the cabbages 1
faw in this diftridl, which has been profited
thus from the example of the Flemings, were
in very fine order, both in refpedl to pul-
verized foil, and a clearnefs from weeds.
I faw the caftle of baron Skulitz, who had
been extremely attentive in fpreading this
good Flemifh hufbandry. He refides con-
ll:antly on his eftate, and makes agriculture
not only his bufinefs but alfo his amufement.
Immediately on their exhibiting a culture fu-
perior to the old management of the Mora-
vians, he followed it with fo much intelli-
gence and fpirit, that he has advanced the va-
lue
GERMANY. 319
lue of his eftate confiderably : he entered
prefently into all their views, and introduced
the beft hufbandry of the Auftrian provinces
ypon his own lands. Falling into difcourfe
on the road with one of his bailiffs, he point-
ed out to me feveral large tracks of land,
which not long ago were entirely wafte, but
are now by this v^orthy nobleman's atten-
tion better cultivated than moft of the pro-
vince.- He has introduced various new branches
of hufbandry, which anfwer better than com-
mon crops ; among thefe, hops and faffron
he brought from Bohemia; madder from
Silefia; and he raifes both hemp and flax in
large quantities : all thefe crops he is re-
markably attentive to, and gives them fuch
uncommon fair play, that his firft trials, con-
trary to what is generally met with, turned
out greatly fuccefsful ; from whence he has
been induced to continue them ever fmce,
and greatly to enlarge all his plantations of
them ', by which, and various other means,
he has improved his revenues in a furprifing
manner.
The owners of extenfive landed eflates, in
poor countries, have all fuch an opportunity
of increafing their income, that it is very
amazing they donotoftener take advantage of
it. If, like the nobleman here mentioned,
they
31b TRAVELS THROUGH
they would refide upon their eflates, inftead
of fpending all their time in the capital,
fquan dering their reven ues in a gulf of luxury,
the meafure of which is never full, and
which cannot fail of impoverifhingthem,and
bringing them into the moft flavifli depen-
dence upon the will of the court : if they
would aft thus, they would find money flow
into their coffers in a far greater abundance
than they can ever hope to receive from the
fmiles of minifters, at the fame time that
they would refide where a fliilling goes as far
as a pound. In the profufion of a capital, the
greateft eflates are fpent without making any
vmufual figure ; but in the country, half the
income v/ould enable them to build and fur-
nifh coftly palaces, and raife whole cities
around them to be witnefTes of their fplendor.
— I have, in the courfe of my travels, met
with feveral inflances which fliew, in the
cleared light, the enjoyment and undoubted
happinefs which this kind of life confers,
even upon noblemen, whoferank andrevenue
would allow them all the amufements of any
metropolis. It is a moft happy thing to any
country, when a fovereign gives all the en-
couragement in his power to promote this
rural attention in nobles, which cannot fail
of
GERMAN Y. 321
©f turning out highly beneficial to the whole
tommunity.
The 23d I got to Vienna, which is iive-
and-twenty miles from Laba^ through a
country that is very unequal, part of it being
very rich, populous, and well cultivated, and
much of it hilly, wild, and to appearance
barren. In the cultivated tracks are many
noblemen's feats; and the hufbandry around
them is vifibly much better than elfewhere,
which is owing to their drawing the peafants,
as it were, into a firing around them. They
plant great quantities of fafFron, which they
reckon the mofl profitable crop they have :
they have alfo plenty of good crops of wheat
and barley; and their extenfive meadows and
paftures feed large herds of cattle, which,
from the neighbourhood of Vienna, turn to
very good account* I faw feveral crops of
the turnep cabbage for cattle. But hulbandry
fuffers much in all this country, and indeeil
through mofl parts of Germany, for want pf
inclofures : they might eafily make them,
and at a fmall expence, but iTegle£l the work
entirely, which mufl be for want of fully un-
derflanding the advantages of them: indeed,
labour is of fo little value, that every fort of
cattle has always a keeper with them, tho'
Vol. hi. Y the
313? TRAVELS THROUGH
the herd is ever fo fmall, yet corn and faffroa
often fuffer,
. Vienna is liluated on the fouth fide of the
Danube, but has not the advantage of that
great river running through it ; for it ftands
on a fmall hrancb of it, tl>ere being feveral
>{lands formed here, by the river dividing it-
ielf. If the fuburbs are included, it is a very
large city, but within the v^alls and fortifica-
tions it is only three miles in circumference.
It is regularly fortified, but has fo few out-
works as to be a place of fmall ilrengthj and
only defended by a fmall army. At the fiege
in 1683 the Turks fliewed themfelves to
be extremely ignorant in the art of conduct-
ing fuch an enterprise ; and their engineers
were miferabte ones, elfe they might have
taken the city fome time before the King of
Poland raifed the fiege; and had that event
happened, Hungary had now been in poffef-
fion of the Ottomans.
Vienna within the walls makes a mofl: ine-
legant appearance, from the narrownefs of the
ilreets. I am one who would not give fix-
pence for a fine building, if there is not a
fuflScient area to view it from. The Englilh
b^aft of the church of St. Paul's at London,
and will fometlmes afiert it equal to St. Peter's
at Rome; but if it wer;c doubly finer, I fhoukl
prefer
GERMANY, 323
prefer St. Peter's from the opportunity one has
of viewing rtt and the area around a great
building ought to be fo much efteemed a
part of it as to be criticifed with it; and the
archite£l's abilities called in queftion for faults
in it, as much as if he blundered in the pro*-
portion of the cupola. Thus in Vienna there
are many palaces (of which I had read and
heard much) in ftreets as narrow as old Brif-
tol ; and at the fame time all the houfes are
five, fix, feven, and fome of them eight (lo-
ries high ; and it is faid they have almoft as
many ftorles of cellars under ground as of
floors above. Formerly all the windows were
grated with iron bars, like prifons, from the
ilreet to the upper floor, and vaft numbers of
houfes are fo now ; but I fee it is left off in
the principal palaces.
The imperial palace is a flru^lure that will
ahfwer to none that fees it; it confiils of fe-
veral courts, furrounded with irregular build-
ings; though, notwithflanding fome late ad-
ditions, it makes but a very mean appearance;
their apartments are neither fpacious, nor fur-
niftied in a manner one would expe£t, for a
court long famed as oneofthemoflexpenfive
in Eufope. The library is fuppofed to rank
among the firft in Europe ; the number of
Y 2 volumes
324 TRAVELS THROUGH
volumes are not lefs than ninety thoufand ;
and the colle£tion of manufcripts fuppofed to
be extremely valuable. I was fhewn feveral
great curioiitles, but upon thefe occafions
there never is time allowed for any ufeful ex-
amination; and if they were, it would lignify
little to the unlearned in the oriental tongues,
in which the mofl valuable manufcripts are
written.
Many of the palaces of the nobility are
mofh magnificent ftruclures; that of the great
Eugene, with his famous library and collec-
tions, I had moil pleafure in viewing : the
Mansfield palace, and that of Count Daun,
are alfo great edifices, with feveral others, ia
which the painting, gilding, carving, and
furniture, are as rich as pollible. t
The univerfity of Vienna is very famous In
Germany and Hungary; the number of ftu-
dents is confiderable, and they have good ac-
commodations- for thofe of fortune, and many
valuable privileges.
There is not much worth feeing in th^
churches of Vienna; the cathedral is the prin-
cipal, and it is a large building ; but nothing is
uncommon in it but the heighth of its fpire,
which, fince Strafburg is become French, is
tlie higheft in the empire. The Jefuits
church is a fine building,; and the convents of
Carmelites,
GERMANY. 325
CarmeUtes, Francifcans, Benedidines, and
Auilin Friars, are vifited by thofe who take
any delight in viewing thefe fort of buildings;
for my part, I have an averiion at feeing fuch
ufeful edifices filled with tribes of pernicious
orders of lazy priefts, who do nothing to gain
their livelihood, but are maintained by the
induftry of every body elfe. It is amazing
that Roman Catholic princes do not find out
that every monk in their dominions might be
a foldier, without the country fuffering a
whit the more : and in many cafes the fol-i
dier would pay well for his maintenance; but
as to the monk, he is fubfifled in the moll
unufeful of all fpecies of idlenefs. But there
are other inftances of the catholic piety of
Vienna befides her monks and nuns ; in one
of the fquares is a very large and coftly fta-
tue of the Trinity, reprefenting the Deity
clafping Chrift in his arms, and the Holy
Ghofi: hovering over them. This was ereded
by the Emperor Leopold, inflead of an equef-
trian ftatue, which, in other cities, would
have been ere^led to the fovereign. To this
famous piece of folly all the Roman Catho-
lies bow as they pafs. Religious prejudices
fhould certainly be laid afide by all travellers;
but is it poffible for a man of fenfe not to re---
joicc, that education has not enflaved him to
y 3 ail
326 TRAVELS THROUQH
an obfervance of, or veneration for fuch mum-
mery? In many inftances, religion makes Ro-
man Catholic countries extremely difagree-
able.
I brought feyeral letters of recommenda-
tion to Vienna, to perfons from whofe eon-
verfation I expefted fome valuable informa-
tion, concerning the general ftate of all the
Auftrian dominions at prefent, in refpect of
agriculture, manufacflures, commerce, reve?
nues, and military povi^er, but I was ftrangely
difappointed ; there is a haughty referve in
every man of the leaft confequence here,
which not only precludes any information of
this ibrt, but at the fame time renders a re-
sidence in any but a public character very dif-
agreeable at Vienna. But after all my letters
had failed, that is, introduced me only to
people who thought that I had no bufinefs
with any thing but eating, drinking, going
to court, and playing at cards, a life by no
means agreeable to me; after this, I fell acci-
dentally into company with a field-officer in
their fervice, a native of Milan: this gentle-
man was exfrcm^ely communicative, very fenr
iible, and had travelled often through mofl of
the dominions of the Emprefs Queen. He.
gave rpe a very rational and candid account
of things, jjs appeared by his manner, and
the
•GERMAN Y. 327
the confirmations I had afterwards from
feveral perfbns in other parts of Europe. To
agriculture this gentleman had not at all at-
tended; he could glye me no more account
of its general iiate in the countries he had been
in, than with that of the moon. I found
from him, however, that the manufad;ures
which have lately been eftabliflied in Hun-
gary flourifh very much ; the Emprefs Queen
and her miniflers have long been eager to
cloath her troops with her fubje(3:s manufac-
tures, infiead of felling all their wool unma-
nufadiired. Hungary, as v/eli as Auftriaj
Bohemia, and Moravia, feed many iheep,
eipeclally Hungary, a great part of which is
a continued and fertile (heep-walk. Great
number of Hungarians have been fet to
tvork upon this wool ; and weavers, fpin-
ners, reelers, &c, brought from Flanders,
to teach the natives to work it; and many of
them' have proved very docile in learnihg: fo
that at prefent,--\vpollerr-goods^ are made to
the amount of near an hundred thoufand
pounds a year, which is a very great thing in
Hungary ; where, before thefe exertions, were
no 'tnanufadlures at all. They are eftablifhed
in moft of the populous towns of that king-
dom; and if they are brought to employ the
poor people in them,- who have no other em*
y 4 ployment,
328 TRAVELS THROUGH
ployment, it will be an immenfe acquifition,
and fave the export of very great fums of mor
ney. As to trade, the inland fituation of the
Auftrian dominions is fuch as allows of very
little foreign commerce. Attempts were made
at Trieft, but they were fo languid, and fuf-
fered fuch interruptions during the war, that
the pommerce of the port is yet nothing that
deferves mentioning, notwithftanding that an
active prince, liberal in ufeful expence, and
attentive to fuch improvernents, might have
made Trieft the feat of a confiderable com-
merce; but all thefe circumstances have been
wanting.
The revenues of the dominions of the houfe
of Auftria are confiderable ; the following
account of them was given to this gentleman
by a perfon who had many ppportunities of
being vvell inforrned.
Bohemia £, 700,000
Moravia — ■ 190,000
Hungary • — -r- 400,000
Auftria • 400,000
Tranfilvania ~r — — - 50,000
Sclavonia and Croatia ioo,oofj
Stiria, Carinthia, and Carniola — 200,000
TTyrol, Brixen, Trent 160,000
The countries of Swabia — — 20,000
The
GERMANY. 329
The Netherlands 150,000
Milan and Mantua 400,000
Tufcany — — ■ 500,000
Total — — ^ -^ — ^ ;^ 3,270,000
What degree of accuracy there is in this
table I am not able to afcertain; but from
the information I have received from other
hands, 1 believe the total to be near the truth;
but Tufcany mufb not be reckoned. The com-
mon idea at Vienna coincides with thefe par-
ticulars which makes the Imperial revenue
near three millions ; though there are fome
fanguine politicians who infift on its amount-
ing tq five, but that is much exaggerated.
The revenues of all thefe countries might be
very much improved ; nobody doiibts, but a
better fyftem of taxation, and a more cecono-
micarcblle£tion, would raife five millions, with
very hear as muCh eafe to the people as three
at prefent; but the" lower claffes of the people,
throughout moft of thefe dominions-, are mir
ferably fleeced and pillaged, while the no-
bility efcape with paying a much lefs propor-
tion than they ought. TheNetherlands might
in particular yield a very confiderable revenue,
and prove ^he fineft and moil profitable pro-
yince§
330 TRAVELS THROUGH
vinces belonging to -the houfe of Auftria ; but'
in order to that, great changes fhould be made
in the conftitutions of the cities ; manufac-
tures fhould receive encouragement, and com-
merce be re-eilablifhed in the ports; all which
might be ealily done, and the revenues of the
fovereign become wonderfully improved ;
whereas, at prefent they yield no more
than might be expe(Sled if they were fituated
no better than Auflria, or Moravia, inftead
of being the fineft fpot in Europe in every
reipe£l, and inhabited by a people naturally
as induftrious as any in the world. Flanders,
iince the Dutch were mafters of the naviga^
tion toiVntwerphas wanted a port ; butOftend,
for an hundred thoufand pounds, might be
made as good a one as any in Europe for
merchantmen.
The many improvements which have been
talked of by the court of Vienna for the here-
ditary dominions, in agriculture, maiiufa£l:ures,
and commerce, were they put in execution,
would at the fame time much improve the re-
venue, and in a manner free the country of
thofe evils which ufually flow from increaf-
ing the public income of a crown. But
there is a dilatorinefs and a languor in every
thing tranfafted at this court, even in its own
moft intricate concerns, that dump the fpirit
of
a -]E R M A H Y. .33,
pf all improvement; fo tliat aiiy objei^of this
fort, upon a jnodefate computation, will be
J:alkeid of hajf a century before it is executed e
fhis was the cafe with the eftablifhni^nt of
the woollen manufadlure in Hungary, an^ with
every thing elfe, fo that it is not thought the
Auftrian reyenijes, however they would admit
pf it, will for a long time be put upon a better
footing than they are, or have any other im?
provements than what refults from oppreffing
the lower claffes of the people flill more ; thari
which, no meafure can give a greater flab to
all general national irr^proyements. Was the
King of Pruffia pofleiTed of the Auflrian do?
ininions in exchange for his own, we (hould
foon fee them maHe a very different appear-?
ance; he would raife much greater revenues,
with far greater eafe to the people; and would
throw fuch a vigour into allthetranfadlions,
which the pofleflioii of Flanders and the Ijta-
lian dominions would introduce him to, that
the importance of them would fpeedily appear
in a very different light from what they do
at prefent.
The great obje£l of attention at Vienna is
the army ; this is fb far reprehenfible in poli-
tics, as it encreafes the neceflity of laying a
foundation previous to every fuperftrudurc : it
is the revenue thatpay§ and fupports the army,
and
331 TRAVELS THROUGH
and all increafe of the latter muft depend on
a foregoing increafe of the former : to raife
a great revenue is much more eflential than
to raife a great army; but the foldiers have a
peculiar faculty of fwallowing up a revenue,
they have none at creating it. That prince,
therefore, who would be truly formidable,
fhould attend to the profperity of his income,
before he thinks of greatly Increallng his
troops.
- The foilov/ing are the particulars of the
prefent {landing forces of the houfe of Auftria.
I infert them on the fame authority as the a-
bove paper of the revenue ; believing, from
other information which I have received, that
it is near the truth; though I Ihould remark,
that all lifts of armies are apt to exceed the
reality, rather than fall beneath it.
Men,
Dragoons
Cuirafliers
JIuflars and Croats
Hunters ■ —
pree troops —
Jnfantry
Artillery
23,846
16,000
14,640
6,300
8,000
165,386
2,800
Total
235,972
The
GERMANY. 333
The whole army, whatever thetotalmay be,
is certahily in excellent order ; the regiments
full, an dwell officered; their cloathing regular-
ly delivered ; their arms much better than
ever ; the artillery very numerous ; and no
expence has been fpared in forming engineers;
the magazines of ammunition and all forts of
military ftores full, and in good order: thele
attentions, have occupied the court ever fince
the peace, and they have been indefatigable
in them. Now that all thefe particulars are
compleated, they are employed in repairing
all the fortifications in Bohemia, Moravia,
Auftria, Hungary, and Tranfilvania ; new
ones are In fome places ere£ling, and many
old ones greatly improved ; this is a work of
immenfe expence, and confequently it goes
on flowly. In every one of thefe particulars,
the Auftrians flrength is greater than at the
breaking out of the laft war. I before re-
marked, that the cafe was the fame with the
King, of Pruflia. Thefe potentates are cer-
tainly jealous of each other, but, I believe,
in no refpe£t that threatens a frefh war ; but
the ftate of affairs in other parts makes it
neceflary for them to be ftrongly armed.
The afpedt of affairs in Pruffia and Poland
fills the houfe of Auflria with uneafinefs ;=
mid although Pruffia efpoufes in her mani-
feflos
354 TRAVELS THROUGH
feftos the fame caufe in Polifh affairs as
the Ruffian Emprefs, flill it can only be be-
caufe the power of that empire is too great for
him to break with. Moft certainly the in-
creafe of the formidablenefs of Ruffia ought,
in good poUtics, to fill both Pruffia and Au-
ftria with the deepefl jealoufy : future alliances
with it, in cafe of a new war with Germany,
muft be very uncertain ; and againfl whoever
fhe declares, her weight will probably fall
too heavy to be refifted. The opportunity of
the war between the Ruflians and Turks has
generally been taken by the Auftrians for at-
tacking the Porte : fuch a meafure noiv would
infure the refloration of Belgrade and Servia,
and perhaps yet greater advantages; but
not making ufe of it may be owing to two
reafons : firfl:, in return for the Turks iwt
playing the fame game when the Emprefs
Queen was at war with Pruffia; and fecondly,
becaufe fuch a condu6: would give greater ad-
vantages to the arms of Ruffia than the houfe
of Auflria wiihes to fee.
CHAP.
GERMAN Y^ ^
CHAP. X.
journey from Vienna through Aiijlria — "Defer ip^
tlon of the Archduchy— Bavaria- — Mu7ikb
"^Kevenues and Forces,
JULY I ft I left Vienna, and that ^zj tra-
veiled forty miles to St. Poltu, through a
Very various country. Near Vienna it is very
gay, being lightly adorned with villas, which
have extenfive gardens and planted groves
about them, but all in a miferable tafte. I
flopped to viewone pretty near the road, which
the pbftilions told me belonged to a" great no-
bleman at court; a defcription of the ground
before the houfe will give a tolerable idea of
the tafte moft prevalent here in ornamenting
their country feats. A canal with a fmali
bridge over it in the center parted the area
before the houfe from the road : from the
bridge to the houfe door was about an hundred
yards; a broad ftone-wayled from one to theo-
ther; on each fide, ranged in exa6t order, was
a ftatue, an urn, and a crofs interchangeably;
thefe were on a flip of grafs : on the other
Ude two canals nicely laidout, Jikethe former,
by rule, and at each corner of the three a
ilatue. The ground on each fide was formed
into
33^ TRAVELS THROUGH
into a grafs-plat, furrounded by a parterre of
flowers, and in the center of each plat a fmall
fountain. From thefe particulars of the ap-
proach to a rural villa, all unfeen may be very
exadly guefled ; and it evidently appears that
the Auftrians are at leaft one hundred years be-
hind us in the art of gardening. It is the fame
with the French, and all the other nations of
Europe. In fome gardens I was fliewn wheii
in Italy, before I was told that they were ex-
ecuted in imitation of nature, upon the plan
of my countryman Brown, whofe fame had
reached there ; and it is not eafy to be con-
ceived how ridiculous every thing was ; the
leaft deviations from line and compafs work,
amidft a great deal of it, were efteemed exer-
tions in the art of imitating nature. A more
ridiculous jumble was never {een ; much worfe
than thofe made purely artificial.
Ornamenting a piece of ground in the
manner of our great gardener, and in the
tafte yet fuperior, in which fome private
gentlemen in England have laid out their
grounds, is an art that requires genius, and
more attention than will ever be given to
it in countries where they refide ten
months out of the twelve in the capitaU
and very many the other two alfo: where
this is the cafe the expence will not be fpared,
for what is wanting in every thing that re-
lates
GERMANY, 337
iates to the country; no article about a noble-
man while he refides in the country in Eng-
land, but what infinitely exceeds that of
any foreign nobleman of equal fortune. Their
wealth is all expended upon theirtown houfes
and their town refidence j it is not therefore
to be wondered at any more, that the EngliQi
have not fuch fine palaces in London, or that
the French and ItaUans have not fuch fine
country feats.
Thefe forty miles do not exhibit an agri-
culture that is very flourilhing, yet the coun-
try is not much in want of people, for the
towns and villages are thick. The foil is in ,
general very good, but they do not fc^em to
have any ideas of cultivating it with neatiiefs :
wild fhrubbery grounds are fuffered to break
into the corn, in ragged borders, and fmall
v/afte fpotSj where the plough, upon account
of fome hillock, or hole, does not go, are
left covered with weeds, to blow all over their
fallows : they have no idea of cleaning fuch
ipots by way of prevention, and fuch numbers
of them as I faw in this day's journey would
not be met with in half an Englifli county.
They fow large quantities of faftron, v/hich
theyreckon a profitable culture, an acre yield-
ing a produce of about three pounds, if the
crop is good. There are many vineyards.
Vol. IIL Z but
338 TRAVELS THROUGH
but the wine fells fo badly, that they aflured
me, corn and faifron were in general much
better and more profitable ; and they do not
confine their vines to tracks improper for
ploughing.
Wheat, barley, rye, peafe, and beans, are
commonly cultivated, but no oats; the crops
are bat middling. Turneps,turnep cabbages,
cabbages, and potatoes, are cultivated in large
quantities; the former for cattle, and the po-
tatoes for fattening hogs, for which they boil
them. They have large herds of fwine, which
feed all fummer long in the woods, many of
which are extenfive. Horned cattle are alfo
very plentiful here ; and as they houfe them
in the winter, they raife large quantities of
dung, which ought to enfure a much better
hufbandry than theirs. I pafTed a fmall farm,
near St. Poltu, that was cnt out of a walle,
and to appearance a barren common, on the
fide of a large hill, difpofed into ten fields by
beautiful quick hedges, which put me in
mind of the beft cultivated part of England:
the inclofures rifmg one above another, on
the fide of the hill, werefeen diflinclly from
the road ; they were covered with various
crops, which appeared much fuperior to
thole of the cultivated parts of the country
I had pafftd; the houfe was fmall but ex-
tremely neat. As foon as I had looked atten-
tively
GERMANY. 339
tively at this very agreeable fight I was go-
ing to make up to itj but recoIle6ling that
I fhould be in the dark, I determined to go
on to the ftage, and come next morning to
view that farm, which feemed a creation in
the midfl of a defart,
I accordingly put my intention in execution
tjhe morning of the 2d, and returned about
three miles to the place, and allcing for the
mailer of it, he appeared immediately; a fine
tall, open-countenanced foldier, in an old fuit
of regimentals. I defired to fee his farm, up-
on which he very readily walked with me in-
to it. I went through all the ten inclofures ;
the hedges were regularly planted, and had
each of them a ditch ; the gates were all in
good order, and every thing carried an ap-
pearance of neatnefs, moil uncommon in
Germany. He had three meadows, each of
them watered by afmallflreamhehad brought
from the hill above his farm ; it filled a little
pond for watering the cattle, and might be
condu6led at pleafure, in the proper feafon,
over all parts of the fields for manuring
them, which he pra6lifes in winter and fpring.
He had a field of wheat, another of barley,
two of clover, and three of turneps and cab-
bages j and his fields were all much of the
fune fize, being each about fix Englifh acres.
Xurneps and cabbages he grew on his faUow
Z 2 for
340 TRAVELS THROUGH
for cleaning the land ; fucceeded them with
barley, and then took clover, upon which he
fovvs his wheat. This hufbandry, which
nearly refembles the beft of Flanders, fur-
prized me in the midflofAuftria, where no-
thing of the kind is to be found. He keeps a
dairy of cows, a fmall flock of fheep on the
neighbouring wafte, and oxen for ploughing
andcarting; he houfes all his cattle in winter;
his ilieep every night in fheep houfes j and
litters every thing well with fern, which he
cuts upon the wafte. He is . extremely at-
tentive to raifmg large quantities of dung,
which he manages by keeping as many cattle
as he poilibly can, and by mixing turf and
virgin earth with his dung as the cattle make
it all winter long; by this means he is en-
abled to manure threefields, or eighteen acres,
very richly every year; but what gives a virtue
to his dunghillfuperior to any thing elfe, is
his bringing all the human ordure away from
the little town of Poku, for which fome of
the inhabitants, ignorant of its value, give a
trifle for taking it away: he is at the expence
of cleaning all the neceffaries there, and of
carting it to his farm: he mixes it up with
his dung and virgin earth, and aflures me that
it forms the richefl compofl in the world: all
the manuie he raifes in this manner being ap»
plied to his turnep and cabbage grounds, he
gets
GERMANY. 34!
gets prodigiouscropsofthofe vegetables j and
I remarked that they wtL'e kept perfectly free
from weeds by hoeing : his cabbages are all
planted in regular rows on ridges, and the
ipaces between the rows ploughed feveral
times while growing, as well to kill the weeds
as to keep the land in good tillage j all which
appeared to me to be an excellent fjilem.
His crops of wheat yield four quarters an
acre; his barley five -, his clover gives four
tons of hay at two mov*^ings 3 and his turneps
and cabbages maintain a vaft flock : an acre
of the former he reckons fufficient to winter-
feed two oxen or cows; one of cabbages will
winter three or four; but the expences of
them are higher. All thefe crops, I fuppofe,
are equal to the beft cultivated parts of Eng-
land.
Upon returning to his houfe he gave me
bis hiftory. He was a corporal in a regiment
offoot, quartered during fix years in Flanders
and Brabant, where, as he had always a ftrong
bent towards hufoandry, he remarked very
minutely their practices, and often worked in
the fields for Flemiili farmers. Upon the v/ar
breaking out with the king of PruiTia he was
early in that fervice, and made a ferjeant, in
which capacity he behaved fo much to Mar-
fhal Daun's fatisfa6lion at the battleof Hock-
chirken, in fight of him, that he gave him pro-
3
7. r> mifes
342 TRAVELS THROUGH
mifes upon the fpot of promotion; thefs
were not thought of afterwards, till being re-
prefented by another perfon to the Emprefs
Queen, and allowed by Count Daun, flie
perfonally afked him, in the prefence of the
whole court, if he had any particular requefl
to make : upon which he afked his difcharge,
and a piece of this wafle to cultivate, being
born in the pari(h. It was granted at once;
and further, his fovereign built him the
houfe and offices diredly, and gave him an
bundled pounds to ftock the farm with.
With this fmall beginning he went to work
diredlly, and in nine years has raifed every
thing to the flate I faw. His induflry is un-
bounded: though a continued fuccefshas at-
tended all his undertakings, and his crops
prove as fine as poffible, bringing him in large
fums of money, yet he continues to work with
the fame feverity as ever, and does much the
greatefl part of all the bufmefs of his farm
with his own hands; he has a fon about
twenty-five who executes the reft. The Em-
prefs has been twice to fee him, and exprefled
the higheft approbation of his conduit, and
made him a handfome prefent. His methods
have been put in execution, under his own
di region, upon the eftates of two noblemen
in the neighbourhood, and with good fuc-
cefs;
GERMANY. 343
feefsj fo that this worthy foldier is like to be
of more benefit to his country than half a
dozen generals; and fhews that nothing is of
more importance than to eftablifh fuch ex-
amples as thefe in various parts of a domi-
nion: for although they may fpread ilowly,
yet they certainly wil! fpread, and that they
cannot do without being of very great pub-
lic benefit.
By night I reached a little town called
Munfbery, being half way to Lintz, at the
diflance of thirty miles from PoltUj through
a country that is cultivated in a very different
manner from the foldier's farm 1 had left,
whofe name (by the way) is Picco; The
crops are in general bad and very full of
weeds; and theyfeem to plough the foil very
badly, although their ploughs are drawn by
fix oxen, and they have two men, or a man
and alad, to drive them, with another man to
hold the plough: it is evident from this that
the price of labour is low, or the farmer, that
is the nobility, could not allow fuch a fuper-
fluity of hands; but while the time of the
peafants belongs to their lords, without any
pay, fuch inftances will be very common ;
but the whole fyftem makes a very different
figure from my friend Picco's, whofe farm is
a contrafl to the whole archduchy. They
cultivate many hops, faffron, and v^nes, and
Z 4 thefe
344 TRAVELS THROUGH
thefe articles exhauft all their lands applied
to common huibandry of the dung which
they ought to have, without yielding a return
proportioned. Picco, when I afked him why
he did not cultivate thefe articles, affuredme
that none of them equalled common crops in
profit, provided the latter were managed in
the manner they ought to be; and of this I
ought to have no doubt, for all thefe uncom-
mon articles require a great deal of attention,
and an infinity of labour, efpecially vines,
while the produce is of fuch a bad fort that
the returns are inconfiderable. Near Lintz the
country improves much, being in itfelf finely
variegated with hills and dales, wood and
water; it is alfo better cultivated : there is
a very little wafte land, and many feats of the
nobility are fcattered about it, attra6led, Ifup-
pofe, by the agreeablenefs of the country.
Lintz is extremely well fituated on the
banks of the Danube : it is fmall, well built,
and a neat place 3 the ftreets well paved, and
kept very clean. What fets off the buildings
in an unufual manner, is the materials of
which they are raifed, being a white flone
that preferves its colour. The market-place
is large and handfome, and is adorned with
two fountains. The Empreis has a palace
here, well furnilhed, which from an high fi-
tuation overlooks the courfc of the Danube
very
GERMANY. 345
Very beautifully : fhe ufed to come here often,
but has not of late years. The Jefuits college
is one of the beft buildings In the place, and
the library has the reputation of being re-
markably well chofen. This place is the
capital of Upper Auftria, for the ttates affem-
ble no where elfe. For its fize, it is very po-
pulous, which is owing to fome manufac-
tures they have that are flouriOnng, particu-
larly that of woollen goods, and of iilk and
worfted j alfo gun-barrels, for which they are
famous. The wool they work up is that of
Auflria, and much comes from Bohemia j all
the fabricks employ 6, or 700 hands.
The 5th I got to Newberg in Bavaria, the
diflance forty miles. This line of country is
all very agreeable, from the inequalities of
the ground, and its open groves, with many
rivers ; nor is it wanting in numerous little
towns and villages, the neighbourhood of the
Danube drawing many inhabitants, by the
conftant trade carried on upon it ; and by the
numerous boats, barges, floopc, &c. which
pafs and repafs upon all forts of bufinefs. I
obferved hops, faftron, and vines were com-
mon culture, and fome flax, which is made
into coarfe linens in the neighbouring towns.
■Newberg is a little place, but very well built,
and remarkably clean. The Eledor Palatine
is fovereign of the duchy, of which it is the
capital;
346 TRAVELS THROUGii
capital; and has a fmall palace here, whicn
however contains nothing worth feeing. The
Jefuits church is the bell: public edifice in the
place. The only trade of Newberg is wine,
but very little of it is goodj feveral forts are
fold fo cheap as three halfpence a quart.
- The 6th I reached Muldorf, the diftancC
•fifty miles, through a very fine, populous, and
well cultivated country being part of the
Ele6lorate of Bavaria. There feems through
this line of country, to be more induftry, ac-
tivity and happinefs, than in any I had pafTed
for a long while 3 and yet the peafants are in
a ftate of villainage as well as elfewhere, but
they are treated in a kinder manner, have
more property and better houfes ; and many
of them are alfo farmers, who by induftry and
frugality have faved money, and find out the
means of difpofing of it to good advantage.
Much of this country is enclofed, than which
there cannot be any improvement of fo much
confequence; and the prefent Ele6lor has
given many privileges and encouragements to
all whoenclofe their farms, as well as exempt^
ing them from antient cuftoms and rights,
which were extremely injurious to open lands.
There are many vineyards in this country,
and the wine is better than that of Auflria.
Sheep fecm to be a principal article in their
huf])aridrv ; tl"icy keep great numbers, and of
a better
GERMANY. ^47
a better breed than common; whicli I am
told was originally owing to procuring fome
rams from Flanders. They yield large fleeces,
and there are many manufactories for work-
ing up the the wool, which receive great en-
couragement from the government. Every
farm of any fize, (that is, every divifion of
an ellate that is under a diftind; fteward or
bailiff) has a large fheep-houfe, with a roof,
but open on one fide to the fouth j in this
houfe they fold their fheep every night the
whole year round, and depend on it princi-
pally for manuring their lands : when they
begin to fold, they fpread over the floor light
virgin foil, turf, fand, or peat earth, and fold
upon it till it is very moifl and dirty; then
they make a frefh layer, and fo go on ; but t<>
every eighteen inches of depth, (for they re-
move the heap but once a year) they litter
with flraw; and in extreme wet or fnowy
weather they do the fame. This is upon the
whole an excellent fyftem for raifing manure,
and is a Flemifli cuftom, though with one
or two variations: but I fhould think the
fheep lying upon fuch a dunghill would be
prejudicial to their health; however, the Bava-
rians affert the contrary, and fay that the health
of the animal does not fuffer in the leafl; and
that the wool is much better than it would be
if the ilieep were expofed to the weather.
Muidorf
348 TRAVELS THROUGH
Muldorf is a little town, agreeably fituated,
and regularly fortified, but is not a place of
any great ftrength ; the ftreets are broad, ftrait,
and well built, and the market-place fpacious,
and furrounded with feveral buildings that
are a great ornament to it. There are feve-
ral churches and convents, but none that
contain any thing remarkable.
The 7th I got to Munich, the diftance fe-
ven and thirty miles, and the country agree-
able and well cultivated : there are many
more nobility who refide conftantly on their
lands in this country, than in any I have feen
in Germany; and to this I attribute the ad-
vantage of the fuperior cultivation : for as the
nobles are the farmers, it is no wonder that
eftates there are managed better under the
mafler's eye than in his abfence. Although
there are not many of them that are profi-
cients in agriculture, yet a life pafTed in the
midfl of its bufmefs, mufl yield a greater .
knowledge of its circumflances than one
which is entiiely employed in the parade of
a court. Befides, there can be little doubt
but the nobles themfelves treat their peafants
better than the race of bailiffs, agents. Sec.
who ufually opprefs and fquceze them the
more, in order to have the better opportunity
of enriching themfelves; and I find it evident,
wherever I have been in Germany, that the
landlords
GERMANY. 349
landlords are the richeft, and their eftates the
beft cultivated, where the peafants are allowed
fome degree of liberty and property. The
happier that race of people, the better for the
nobles; the latter will not in all cafes be
brought to believe this, but nothing admits
of clearer proof.
Their corn through this track of country
looked very well -, and I obferved particularly,
that their fallows intended for next year were
well ploughed, and clean; whereas they are'
full of weeds in many parts of Germany, and
made fuch bad management as I had feen in
Auilria. The foil here is a rich loam, with
fome light tracks : they plough chiefly with
oxen. They fallow their lands for wheat,
and then fow barley; after the barley, they
take peafe or buck-wheat, and then turneps,
or cabbages; but they do not fow any clover
which the Auftrian foldier, and all Flanders
And Brabant, find fo profitable. Wheat yields
two quarters and an half per acre, barley
three, and buck-wheat four; and their tur^
neps and cabbages are applied to feeding their
cattle and (heep; but all are houfed in winter.
Munich I think, without exception, is the
fineft city in Germany; Drefden, while in its
grandeur, I am told furpafiTed it; and fome
parts of Berlin are very beautiful, but, all
things confidered,they nowyieldto this place.
It
^Q TRAVELS THROUGH
It is fituated on the river Iler, which dividing
into feveral channels, waters all parts of the
town : (o that little flreams run thro' many
of the flreets, confined in ftone channels,
which have amofl clean and agreeable effecl.
The ftreets, fquares, and courts are fpacious
and airy, which fet off all the buildings
much, and make them appear finer than
others much more cofily in other cities. The
ilreets in particular are fo ftrait, that many
of them interfecffc each other at right-angles,
and are very broad, and extremely well built.
There are fixteen churches and monafteries
in it, many of them very handfome edifices;
thefe, with the eledoral palace, and other
public buildings, take up near half the city,
fo that it may eafily be fuppofed the place is
in general very well built.
The principal of all thefe public edifices
is the electoral palace, Vv-hich is rather a con-
venient than an elegant building. It is very
lar?e, having four courts in it, and all of them
large ; but there is a want ot finifliing in the
infides of all the places in Germany that can-
not fail difgufling an Ejiglifliman, who has
been ufed to fee the houfes of the nobility in
his own country finilhed to the garrets as
compleatly as a fnuff-box; and certainly it is a
moll agreeable circumftance. In the palace of
Munich thefincfi: room, which is the grand
hall,
GERMANY. 35?
hall, being an hundred and eighteen f^Qt
long by fifty two broad, is open to the roof,
fo as entirely to deftroy the efFedt which would
refult from fuch a fize if finifhed : birds fly
about it as in a barn, and drop their fa-
vours on the heads of the company as they
pafs : I have in Germany feen many inftances
of unfinifhing equal to this. There is a great
profulion of marble in the feveral apartments^
but it is not wrought in an agreeable manner.
The furniture is in general old ; it has been
very rich, but has nothing in it llriking; nor
is the colle6lion of pi6lures comparable to
many others in Germany. The Mufeum is
well filled with many curiofitles; of which,
as Keyfler gives a lift, I fhall fay no more of
them. The Jefuits college is among the fineft
buildings belonging to the church: it is very
fpacious, The great church, and the Francif-
cans monaftery, are alfo worth feeing; the
latter order is pofrefTed of very great revenues.
Several palaces of the nobiUty make a very
good figure, and the town-hoafe is better
than many I have feen. The number of m-^
habitants is computed at fifty thoufand.
The palaces mod worth feeing are the E-
le6lor's country ones of Sleilheim and Nymr»
phenburg, near Munich. Sleifheim is a fine
|)uiiding, and much better finifli^d than that
of
352 TRAVELS THROUGH
of Munich; the portico fupported by marble
pillars is fine : in the apartments, which are
furnifhed in an agreeable manner, is a very
good collection of pictures, but they are
chieiiy by Fiemifh mailers. Nymphenburg
exhibits a German tafle of gardening in
perfection, the Bavarians holding them to be
the fineft in the empire; the fituation, wood,
and water v/ould admit of fomething beauti-
ful, but here is nothing but the old-fa£hioned
fountains, ilatues, monfters. Sec,
It is thought by moil perfons at Munich,
as well as in other parts of Germany, that
the electorate of Bavaria has thoroughly re-
covered the mifchiefs it fuffered in the war
of 1744, and is now as rich and as populous
as ever. The electoral revenues are reckoned
to amount to fix hundred thoufand pounds a
year, and are improving: the landing army
confifts of eleven thouiand foot, and three
thoufand horfe; but the Bavarians fay, their
prince could bring forty thoufand men into
the field: however, it is certain, that if he
could bring them there, he could not main-
tain them, without their being in the pay of
foreigners. While the houfe of Bavaria con-
tinues on good terrns with that of Auftria,
there is no danger of its fuffering by the elcc-
tora,te being again made the feat of war.
F I N I S,
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11